Hogwarts and the Sole of the Universe
by D.A. Tali
Summary: Original Characters, Drew Henry and Alberto Pizarro each embark on enter-twining journeys in their first years at Hogwarts. Trouble brews around the school as the magical creatures that call the grounds their home begin to act strangely violent.
1. An Interesting Discovery

CHAPTER ONE: **An interesting discovery**

The moon was hung high in the sky; the air surrounding the mountain was bitterly silent as a single man crunched against the gravelly side of the highest peak. A whistle of wind blew by the traveler's ear, bringing him back to his senses.

Octavious Lynwood had climbed this mountain for the treasure lore, something he had been quite fond of since his childhood. It was said that this mountain was used by various famous wizards through the years. Merlin was supposedly the last to have visited the ancient place, and a treasure beyond the modern day wizarding world's greatest imaginations lay untouched somewhere deep inside. Wives tales were all that they were said to be, but after an interesting chat on the subject with his colleague, Cuthbert Binns (The History of Magic professor at Hogwarts School) Lynwood decided it would be worth the hike up the mountain just outside of Hogsmeade village.

A swarm of Red caps, a hairy acromantula, a small mountain troll, and the steadily dropping temperature would have been enough to send even the bravest of treasure hunters back to the village below, but not this aged professor. His legs hadn't gotten this much work in decades, and the bald top of his head had numbed over in the frigid atmosphere. He periodically wiped a drip of mucus from his sharp nose, pushing up his thick spectacles in the process. He was not a fit man, by any means. He had a pot-belly and was nearing eighty years of age, and while he hated to admit it to his pupils, he wasn't the best at _practical _defensive magic. Sure, he had managed to keep the creatures he had faced thus far away rather easily, but he feared that if something more threatening came along his retirement would be closer than originally thought.

He now stood in front of a dead end. The wall was quite smooth, compared to the rest of the mountain, and its sleekness reflected the light of the moon. A dry smile cracked Lynwood's face realizing he had reached just what he was looking for, The Cave of Origination. Lynwood was a firm believer in rumors and legends all having a root of reality and if even a sliver of truth remained in this story, he had just made the finding of the millennia.


	2. Covering Their Tracks

CHAPTER TWO: **Covering Their Tracks**

Platform 9 ¾ suddenly materialized before Drew Henry, a small boy of eleven. He quickly scuttled away from the barrier that he had just run through; making room for his bumbling mother and sister. The two skidded in behind him, though Drew hardly noticed. His eyes were transfixed on the crimson engine just a few feet away from him, steam wafting from it, almost elegantly. His brown eyes quickly analyzed the train's details, and though he knew next to nothing about locomotives, he was impressed. Seeing his mother speed past him out of the corner of his eye forced him to redirect his attention to the situation at hand: Hogwarts. Angling his cart (carrying his trunk), he stiffly followed behind his family towards the closest entrance onto the Hogwarts Express.

"You've got everything, then? You packed your new robes, cloak… You _did_ pack your new spell books, didn't you?" His mother prodded in a voice of upmost significance. Tufts of her newest dyed brownish hair color began to dangle into her face. Drew nodded quickly, wishing nothing more than for her to stop badgering him. She pursed her lips; a facial expression Drew knew signified a flood of emotion was on its way.

"Love you, mum." Drew said softly. He reeled her in for a hug and held her for a moment, knowing this would be the last time he'd see her for a long while. His curly locks of black hair seemed to tickle her chin, as she pulled away to smile at him.

"You'll be great- I know you will." She spoke through a silent tear. Drew smiled back before turning away and yanking his trunk off of the cart. He stood it up on a side, purposely avoiding his mother's gaze. He didn't want to look childish in front of all of the other students around him. Finally gripping the nerve, he bent down to peck his younger sister, Jayda on the cheek and without another word, he drug his trunk onto the train, and vanished from their sight Drew sighed quickly as he entered the long corridor lined with the student carriages. _Confidence_ he reminded himself. He had always been the leader of the pack back at WizEd (A sort of primary school for children with magical parents) but that was then, that wasn't Hogwarts.

He could feel his heart pounding against his rib cage, but tried to push it out of his mind. He fought with his inclination to slouch and managed to march along the hall, chest out and head up. He hoped that the looks he was receiving from the students he could see from the carriage windows were coming simply because he was a first year, rather than because he looked like a pompous prat.

He peered into each carriage as nonchalantly as possible, and after walking for what seemed no less than an hour, he had reached the end of the first car. He quickly glanced into the last carriage where he was relieved to find his best friend, Ali Acra right where he had said he would be in his last letter. Drew slid the glass door open and grinned.

"Wotcha, A-man!" He said, grinning ear to ear as he loaded his trunk onto the luggage rack with Ali's. His friend simply nodded back offhandedly, his glasses sliding to the end of his nose as Drew took a seat opposite of his. Drew's smile faded, the two boys may not have seen each other in a while, but this was definitely strange behavior on Ali's part. Ali was intent on staring out the window for the trip, he wasn't analyzing the scenery or the speed of the train, no, he was simply thinking.

Hours before at home, he had been stuffing his head with all available information on the Hogwarts Sorting Ceremony, and over the course of the week that led up to his departure to school, he had also asked the opinion of every grown Wizard and Witch that he had come into contact with. From an outsider's standpoint he deciphered that there were only two _doable _houses- Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Of course, throughout his family tree there were loads of Slytherins, a house that Ali had decided based on the qualities given by Hogwarts' fabled sorting hat itself, wasn't completely bad. Ambition and elitism weren't _evil _on their own, it was always the power hungry individuals that brought the house's reputation down- But a bad rep was the last thing Ali (Or his father) wanted for the start of his academic career.

Drew rolled his eyes quite obviously. Ali's academic priorities were nothing new to him, and he had come to the conclusion that that was what his friend was preoccupied with. He began to reach into his trunk, the pop of the latch was the first sound made in the compartment since Drew had stepped in. He yanked out his new, untouched class book.

_Standard Book of_

_Spells: Grade 1 – By Miranda Goshawk_

He flipped through the pages, figuring now was as good of a time as ever to take notice of the actual curriculum taught at the school he would be attending. Although he was determined not to let it affect him, Drew too, had sorting on his mind.

Drew was what is referred to as a 'Half-blood' in the wizarding world. Although he was born to two magical parents, his father was not. Having paternal muggle grandparents was what defined his blood status. He had grown up knowing about Hogwarts, and his parents had always told him that they were fine with whatever house he'd end up in. Like most boys his age, he had idolized his father, and a year prior to his trip he would have favored Slytherin, his father's alma mater, but that was then. A lot had changed with Drew's home life in the last year, and at this point in time, given the choice, he would turn down Slytherin in a heartbeat. His mother was a Gryffindor alumnus, and though her old school tales were never on par with his father's epics, Drew now thought that her former house was the best of the lot. Daring Nerve and Chivalry were definitely qualities Drew prided himself on.

"I've finished that." Came a voice from the seat opposite of him. Drew had been absent mindedly flipping through the spell book, lost in thought, and had completely forgotten he shared the compartment. "The book. I can manage all the spells up to chapter 8." Ali piped up again. Drew's mouth hung open a bit at the last statement.

"Bloody… That's five charms, two jinxes, and a curse!" Drew said, raising his eyes after checking the book for reference. Ali nodded, clearly not fazed by Drew's look of astonishment. "I reckon you're dad made you, eh?" Drew asked, quickly regaining his composure. Ali paused before answering.

"… He didn't _make_ me."

Drew decided not to push the subject any further, just glad that he'd gotten Ali's attention away from the window.

"So," He interjected just as Ali was about to turn away once more. "-Sorting." He spoke the word as if letting out a great sigh. Ali gulped, preparing his answer before something distracted the two boys completely.

_BANG._

The boys swung their heads around just in time to see something messy and orange oozing from the glass door.

Alberto looked impatiently around for other people that looked like him. It had been almost an hour of searching for the entry way to platform 9 ¾ and his family was no closer to finding it than they were when they entered King's Cross station.

"Forget it; we're not going to find the blasted thing!" Albert's mother raged.

"But, mum! I don't want to go to Durmstrang…" He retorted, trying to keep the 'whine' out of his voice in public. The middle aged witch ignored him, walking furiously to a bald man, who had a stomach filled with fire whiskey and butter beer, though his legs were that of a runner. He stood up at 5'11. Alberto bit his finger, looking around for his step sister.

"Pa, where's Nataly?" He asked, turning to face him. His dad stared at him for a moment, before smirking.

"Dunno, probably lost like we are!" He bellowed, adding a small wink that only his son could catch. Alberto sighed; he was annoyed with his parents' obliviousness

"She knows where to go; she's a bloody second year!" Not even catching that he had said 'bloody' he was once again ignored, though this time, his mother whipped out her wooden wand, and with a flick, Alberto's long shabby hair had been fixed and combed. He touched his head furiously, what was the point of looking nice if he wouldn't even be able to get onto the platform to go to school? Surrounding muggles seemed not to notice the sudden display of magic, as they rushed ahead for their trains. Alberto peered up at the clock above him, it read 10:45, and Alberto realized that the Hogwarts express would be leaving in fifteen minutes.

Just when hope was all but lost, Alberto caught sight of the familiar face of his step sister bustling towards him wearing a blue jacket and jeans in contrast with Alberto's traditional black work robes. He couldn't help but to let out a giant sigh of relief.

"Nat!" He began before getting interrupted.

"C'mon, then." She said in a tone of slight annoyance as she grabbed her trunk along with the back of Alberto's robes. Alberto was taken aback at her forcefulness.

"But… where are we going?" He managed as she yanked him towards a column that separated platforms nine and ten in the muggle station.

"The Hogwarts express, obviously. It should be getting ready to leave in a few minutes. Just watch me closely…" She said dully. She slowly looked around, before walking towards a wall, slowly dissolving into it. He watched his mother smile, and walk in afterwards.

"This should be good!" She giggled simply, as if she hadn't been distraught a few minutes earlier. Alberto's father then picked him up, and walked towards the wall, stopping just before meshing through. He then proceeded to pretend he was leaning against it.

"Let's do this… in style." He said grinning at his son, falling back through the barrier. Alberto couldn't help but to laugh, as he was set down. The steam from the train filled the station, as the train pulled in for its brief stop before leaving to Hogwarts. Alberto looked back at both of his parents, smiled and kissed both their cheeks knowing it was time for him to leave them.

"I love you." Were the words that slid out of his mouth. His dad bent down on one knee and looked at Alberto. "This school here... is one of the best," He began with some difficulty, tears welling up in his eyes. "– but it allows wizards and witches that are not of our kind to attend… Just – stay with our kind. Okay?" He finished seriously. Alberto knew what he meant. His father was referring to purebloods. He was sure there would be loads of them around. _Nothing to worry about, for now, _He thought, pushing this to the back of his mind. He turned and faced Nataly, smiling.

"I think I can get on by myself now!" He said playfully as he picked up his caged owl and trunk. His sister shrugged pulling off her jacket and replacing it with her open chested black work robe, leaving her other strange clothes underneath. "What's the deal with those clothes, anyway?" He asked curiously. As she opened her mouth, a voice came from behind.

"Wus' that? I'm more curious abou' that old thing you're wearin', firstie!" Came an older boy with dreadlocks. He was rather built, considering he couldn't have been any older than thirteen, and stood a head taller than Alberto. Alberto shook his head in confusion, his robe certainly wasn't old, he had just bought it last week! The boy didn't inquire further, but grabbed Nataly and tugged her away. She screamed out as she was pulled.

"If you need me, find me!" He sighed, shaking his head. He wouldn't dare go to her if he did. He looked over to his right, and began walking the opposite way into the first visible entrance to the train.

Peering into every compartment blankly for others with robes like his, he began to lose hope, seeing everyone in what he thought were leg sleeves and open chested robes. He wondered how on earth those were comfortable for anybody. Just when he began to lose hope, he had found a compartment with three students in robes just like his, with green and silver badges pinned to their chests. He gulped loudly, before entering the compartment. They had all stared at him blankly and just before he'd decided it was about the worst idea ever, the oldest looking spoke.

"Must be a firstie!" The other one shoved him, and smiled. "Nice to meet you! I'm Ryan, that's Andrea and the puny one's her little brother, Wasim!" Wasim quickly ducked his head to hide his emotions. Alberto thought the introduction seemed a bit sketchy, but smiled at them.

"Purebloods…?" he asked cautiously. Andrea nodded. A sigh of relief had left his mouth, as he shoved his trunk into the top parts of the compartment, keeping his cage next to him.

"Nice to meet you guys, I'm Alberto Pizarro!"

"First year too?" Asked the boy who was previously hiding in the corner. He added, "I'm Wasim." After Alberto had nodded. He smiled and shook his hand, before looking out of the compartment at the students that had walked by. He felt bad for those with no one to sit with.

"So, tell us. Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw?" Andrea asked to kill the silence, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"Err… what're those again, exactly?" Was Alberto's reply, and just as he had feared, they laughed at him. Ryan answered him after recovering from his snickering.

"They're the four school houses, obviously. You're sorted into one of them by your traits and qualities… Slytherin's the only one worth being in, though. House of the elite- Right, Wasim?" He finished, looking at the smaller boy in the corner. Wasim looked up at each of them.

"Yep, at least that's what I'm hoping for." He replied. It sounded rehearsed, but sincere enough.

Alberto shrugged; he didn't know which one he'd pick. He remembered that Nataly's badge was blue, unlike the Slytherin badges that Ryan and Andrea displayed.

"What colors are there?"

"Colors? No boy! Colors aren't what're important 'ere." Spat Ryan almost viciously. He shook his head after saying this, though and reclined back into his seat, apparently calming himself. Alberto nodded quickly. He would rather avoid confrontation with another who was more adept in magic, than himself.

"So, how about we all have some fun?" Alberto suggested in a more calm tone. Ryan gave it a thought, and nodded accordingly and snapped.

"What better way to initiate our young friend here, than find some muddies to toss around?" Michael questioned the compartment, and without waiting for a response, he got up and left the carriage. "Wasim stay here, watch our belongings!" Andrea managed to fit in as she headed out. Alberto turned back and nodded his head as a gesture of goodbye.

The three looked into every compartment, before finding one with a large boy wearing the same strange clothes that both the muggles at King's Cross and Nataly seemed to be wearing. He had locks of curly black hair, and Alberto could tell instantly that he was of Spanish decent like himself, though the boy outweighed him by quite a bit. Another boy had been looking out the window. He was very tall and gangly with light of brown hair, and his pale skin turned red as soon as he took notice of the new comers to his compartment.

"Oi! Name your Purity!" Ryan ordered loudly. The younger boys were clearly intimidated, and the tall boy popped in his seat, startled at the demand.

"I'm a virgin!" He yelled. Everyone eyed him oddly.

"W-we're muggle borns, if that's what you're asking… sir." Stammered the large boy, a tone of uncertainty in his voice. Ryan suddenly gave a face of disgust, as if someone had placed a skunk underneath his nostrils. He shook his head, and pulled his wand out, along with Andrea.

"We figured as much! You Filthy little disgraces!" Alberto looked at them, before curiously asking.

"What'd they do to you?" The glare Ryan shot him made him flinch, and at once he wished he hadn't of asked it.

"Jus' wondering?" He muttered. Ryan turned, his whole body now facing Alberto; he didn't lower his wand.

"What'd they do? They destroyed our race, calling themselves magical, when it's obvious there's not a drop of magic in their blood. Their lot being permitted to this school is destroying the honorable culture of Wizardry." He said with the air of giving a speech to a toddler. Alberto didn't seem to understand.

"But he's a wizard like us." Alberto said, wondering what he was missing in this conversation. But before he knew it Ryan shook his head, and pushed him towards the others. "If you want to defend 'em, Join 'em!" Ryan now directed his wand in their direction , before slashing it around.

"_Melofors!_" An orange light bursted from the tip of his wand, and before neither of them could close their eyes, It was pitch black. Alberto, and the other two boys, stumbled around as the other two older students began laughing hysterically. It had a distinctive smell of Halloween, and he could feel ooze of strings with seeds slapping him on the face as he stumbled out of the compartments.

"Tyler!" screamed out the wide boy, his voice was muffled by the pumpkin.

"Nick?" Came the taller child, his voice echoing distantly. All of them began slamming into doors, left and right, unknowingly moving in the halls. Alberto decided to stop moving, all he wanted now was to find his sister. He began feeling for a wall, to figure his way around. It was little help though; Nick had bumped into Alberto, sending him flying into a compartments window door.

_BANG_

The impact had broken the pumpkin, ooze now dripping down the door. Alberto, now free, heard rapid footsteps to his right, and saw the large boy, running off down the other way, Pumpkin still intact.


	3. Fate's Mates

CHAPTER THREE: **Fate's Mates.**

Drew quickly bounced out of his seat and hopped to the door. He yanked the handle and opened the sliding glass to reveal two boys around his own age. The one nearest to the door was already dressed in his black work robes and his face seemed to be drenched in the gooey insides of a pumpkin. His dark hair was seemingly plastered onto his head, retaining the shape of the orange shell he had been previously wearing.

Under normal circumstances, Drew would have found this quite amusing, but considering that this boy was a stranger, and the fact that he looked as if he'd been through hell and back forced him to stifle his laughter.

"We were hit with melofors jinxes." Alberto Pizarro said slowly, noticing the inquiring look on his new found company's faces. Drew had never heard of such a jinx, but nodded his head, still dumbstruck. Across the corridor, the taller boy seemed to have given up hope on pulling his pumpkin off and was sitting on the floor, his trapped head leaning against the wall behind him. Noticing this, Drew turned back to Ali.

"Ay mate, learn any spells in that book to sort him out?" Drew asked, pointing towards the tall boy. Ali looked taken aback, as if he had wanted little to do with the trouble in the hallway, but reached into his jacket anyway to reveal a thin, carved piece of wood- his wand. Holding it in front of him, he skewered his face as he flicked his wand towards the concealed boy.

"_Diffindo!" _He whispered intently. Sending silvery sparks sputtering from his wand. Indeed, the next second a seam appeared down the pumpkin shell and, as if a knife were cutting it, it was sliced open. The second boy was equally as drenched as the first, but by the look on his face, Drew couldn't help but to wonder if some of the wetness came from the boy's own tears.

"Th-thank you..." The boy muttered faintly before standing up. His full stature was incredible, both Drew and Ali craned their necks to watch the boy's body continually escalate until he was nearly two and a half heads taller than both of them. Drew felt a sting of sympathy for the boy, and offering only a quick glance back at Ali, he made a decision.

"We have plenty of room here, if you two haven't a place to sit… A place where you don't get jinxed, I mean." Alberto looked up from his companion in goo, to Drew, and gave an appreciative smile.

"Yeah! That'd be brill," He replied cheerfully, wiping some of the smut off of his face. "I'm Alberto Pizarro." He offered a slimy hand out to Drew, which was shaken only a bit reluctantly.

"Drew Henry, and that's Ali Acra." Drew spoke, looking back at Ali who had returned to his seat almost immediately after assisting with his charm. Ali offered another curt nod, before returning to his window gazing.

"Tyler Harper's m' name." The tall boy said a little bit more confidently than before, now that he had some time to recover to being outside of a pumpkin. The two boy compartment had become four, and Alberto filled Drew (And a mostly distracted) Ali in on their adventure while Tyler remained quiet in the corner of the compartment.

"I reckon those are the 'wrong sort' of people that my aunt and uncle mentioned." Drew said quietly, after listening to Alberto and Tyler's previous abuse. Just before he'd left for King's Cross station that day, his aunt and uncle had warned him of some lingering pure-blood supremacists that may be amongst the older students at Hogwarts. Alberto shifted uncomfortably in his seat, but his facial expression remained unchanged.

"Don't mind me asking," Drew said slowly, "But why are you already in robes- that robe?" He was referring to Alberto's single black robe that was unopened down the front. These were fine under the dress code of Hogwarts, but weren't something most wizards their age wore often, unless under special occasion. Ali seemed to take notice as well, and stared across with a smirk.

"What? You guys don't wear these? It was on the supplies list…" Alberto's eyes were wide in astonishment. What kind of strange families had these boys come from? He had taken notice of the other three's muggle clothing, but had figured they would be changing later. For the first time since introducing himself, the tall boy, Tyler made his presence known.

"I knew I'd done something wrong! My robes are all open-chested… I might as well of stayed at home!" He said suddenly. Drew and Alberto locked eyes for a moment, both wondering where the sudden burst of low self-esteem had come from. The carriage was silent before Drew dug into his trunk to pull out a pair of his own robes.

"Like these?" He asked Tyler, tossing the black uniform across to the boy. Tyler looked down at them sheepishly before nodding and handing them back.

"They're just different styles, mate… What's your deal anyway?" Drew finally asked, having enough of the boy's constant depression. Ali glanced sideways at Drew, shocked at his seemingly rude inquiry. Tyler looked up at Drew; it was obvious that his eyes were only just managing to hold back tears.

"I think I'm here by mistake. I can't be magical like you lot… my parents were as shocked as I was when I got the letter. I reckon… it's just a big mistake." He muttered sloppily. The boy looked miserable and his face was red, his brown hair still littered with pumpkin seeds. Another stab of sympathy hit Drew inside of his chest. Alberto, placed his hand on Tyler's shoulder, and even Ali showed a bit of remorse for the boy's sad confusion.

"I read that loads of wizards are born to muggle folks every year. If you got the acceptance letter then of course you're magical!" Ali said, dismissing Tyler's claim with a wave of his hand.

"In no way does it put you behind the rest of the first Years," Drew said, "But if you sit here and mope the whole trip to school it might!" He said, trying to sound encouraging. Alberto now leaned in to the conversation and smiled up at Tyler.

"To be honest, I think it's actually pretty cool. I don't have any muggles or muggle-borns in my family at all." Alberto said, as if this fact was a small disappointment.

"Really? You're an honest pure blood, then?" Ali asked. "I guess I am, almost… But I've got relatives up in my tree that are muggle-born or less." He stated solidly. Alberto nodded,

"And you?" He asked Drew, trying not to sound too forceful.

"Half." Drew replied shortly, clearly not wanting to go into his heritage all that deeply. "Both of my parents are magical, as well though." Alberto tried not to look shocked, as the other boys stated their information as if it was of little importance, but he couldn't help but to think _I'm the only one?_ He didn't want to dwell on what his family would think once they found out about his Hogwarts experience so far.

The sun was slowly setting behind the horizon and the orange glow that radiated in through the boys' window lit their faces with excitement. They had just been having a laugh discussing pants with Alberto (He had constantly been referring to them as 'Leg sleeves') and were now simply enjoying some sweets that they had bought from the elderly vender that sold them. The mood in the carriage was very light-hearted, as everyone joined in on the nibbling of candy and sharing of stories. Tyler had brightened up quite a bit, and Ali's attention was focused on the conversations that were being held opposed to the depths of his mind. After having a laugh at Tyler's reaction to his chocolate frog coming to life before his eyes, Drew's mind reverted back to the sorting ceremony that awaited him at the end of the train tracks.

"What do you lot think about houses?" Drew asked after confirming that the Bertie Bott's bean in his mouth was indeed vanilla flavored and not sardine. Unsurprisingly, Tyler looked back with confusion, but Drew noticed that Alberto gave a similar look.

"Oh… Ryan asked me about that," Alberto responded through a mouthful of Drooble's best blowing gum. "I honestly dunno the first thing about 'em. 'Rents never went 'ta Hogwarts. M' dad's from Spain, and… Mum is from an island called Cuba, WAY across the puddle." He continued, smacking his gum between each sentence. Drew and Ali stared at him, intrigued.

Ali's mind, too, had stranded from the foreboding ceremony that would be happening in a few hours while enjoying the company of his compartment, but he was glad to give the newcomers the details on the matter that he had been studying the last week.

"Alright, well… I'm not sure what that git, Ryan told you, but here's the logistics of the houses-"Ali paused, noticing the looks that his companions made at the word 'logistics' and let out a sigh.

_Explaining this will take the remainder of_ _the trip!_

Ali described the ins and outs of the houses.From the founder's history, to common rooms, and indeed, he even touched upon the house colors. After finishing his long winded explanation, he leaned back into his seat as if he had just run a marathon.

"Wow… so this whole thing is decided by a hat? Where I'm from, they aren't used for anything but… covering up your head!" Tyler said, the concern creeping into his voice once more.

"Well that's all they're used for in the wizarding world as well, usually." Said Alberto skeptically. "I don't see what's so bloody scary about it, unless it happens to have some sort of fangs under its brim!" He announced boldly. The other three laughed at his statement, and Alberto looked pleased with himself.

"You don't get it, mate! It can look _into _your mind! It… it tells you who you are!" Drew said with a nervous chuckle. Ali nodded, and after a while he slowly drifted back to the window again, but what he caught a glimpse of caught him off guard. He turned back to the group urgently.

"Bloody hell! Did you lot see that!" Ali spat in fear. The three boys shook their heads thickly, the wrappers of all of their sweets scattered the seats and floor. "Horses! Loads of them, all standing around in that clearing back there!" Night had nearly fallen completely, and the train was slowing gingerly. Drew looked unentertained as he stood up to pull on his black work robe, (Tyler following suit),

"So you saw a herd of horses. What's the big flippin' deal?" Drew asked crudely as he slid his arm through the sleeve up his open chested robe, his burgundy shirt standing out against the black. Ali shook his head angrily,

"One, horses don't just stand huddled up like that, and two, horses aren't native to the area! I read so in Hogwarts: A History… this is a-" Ali's rant was drowned out by the sound of feet scuffling in the corridor, and the boys noticed that the train had made a complete stop. Eyes wide, Drew looked over to Alberto and Tyler.

"_Now entering_ _Hogsmeade Station. First years exit the back of the train, older students to_ _the front."_ Commanded a voice, obviously magically increased in volume. Even Alberto's mouth went dry as Drew yanked open the compartment door.

"Well," Drew gulped "Let's not wait for the grass to grow!" The four boys clambered out of the compartment, and marched out the back to exit the train.


	4. Who did you say I was again?

CHAPTER FOUR:

**Who did you say I was, again?**

Stepping out into the night, Drew led the way off of the Hogwarts express and onto the platform of Hogsmeade station. His three compartment mates trotted after him, Ali taking up the rear.

_Horses in this_ _environment? Who takes care of them? I would've read if… _Were the sorts of thoughts that flooded Ali's head. Never being able to cope with the absence of facts, he was once again distracted from the main event. Only just realizing that he was behind the rest of the first years who were walked off towards the bank of the loch, following a very large man, he ran to catch up, pulling on his robe in the process.

"Well, firs' years. This'll be the mode o' transport for the evenin'," Bellowed the hairy man that led the pack of students, looking down at some small boats in the water. He looked down at the students, beaming. His beetle black eyes twinkled in the light that the lantern in his hand gave off. Drew recognized the giant man as Rubeus Hagrid, the school's game keeper from his parent's stories. His heart fluttered as he looked beyond Hagrid's bearded face and set his eyes on the magnificent castle behind him. He was living the day that he'd dreamt about since he was three.

As the rest of the first years caught up, various whispers of _'Oooo,' _and _'Ahhh,' _filled the air, each student's individual reaction to the ominous silhouette that stood across the lake. Drew glanced back at Ali, who was unsurprisingly looking down at his feet, deep in thought. Drew scowled before looking sideways at his new friends. Alberto was laughing about something with Tyler, as the two stared at a rather large boy with curly hair. Drew was just glad to see neither of them looked worried. Not as worried as he was.

Hagrid recited a few rules about safety on the lake before assigning them to a boat, and nudging each of them into the water, one at a time. Drew's boat consisted of two muggle borns, Tyler and the large boy, Nick. Once the boat hit the water, Nick's face looked pale.

"Y' mean… There's no paddle? Nothing to keep us from-"His questions were stopped and replaced with a quick intake of air. He had seen something moving in the water, and Drew saw his eyes roll back into his head.

"Tyler, what's wrong with your friend?" Drew managed to ask before a sickening sound ripped through the silence of the students' anticipation. Drew didn't see exactly what had happened, but the sound of one liquid hitting another was enough for him to guess.

"Big boy got sick!" Cried an unfamiliar boy from another boat, pointing at Nick. The rest of the outside students all looked in, and within seconds the dramatic scene of wading to Hogwarts was diminished. Even Hagrid, in his solitary boat let loose a few chuckles. Drew felt his face getting hot with embarrassment. Of course he would have to ride in the same boat as vomit boy.

Within minutes, the last of the boats had docked on the wooden pier extending off of Hogwarts castle. Drew was quick to separate himself from Nick, and followed Tyler over towards Alberto and Ali. Drew was slightly amused at the look of Ali's face; it was obvious that he was annoyed.

"-And, Ali? Is it possible to stay friends with people if you're sorted into different houses?" Alberto asked, as they hopped out of their boat. Ali frowned, it had been the questions that the pure blood boy had been asking him throughout the boat ride that irked him, but this one had actually made him think.

"Well, erm… obviously, there's nothing against it in the school rules, but…"

"Of course it's possible." Drew replied sharply. He hoped Ali felt the same way, but by the look on his face he couldn't quite be sure. The four boys' attention was brought back to the front of the crowd, now that all of the first years were on solid land. Hagrid motioned for them to follow, and the large group did so. They climbed a few flights of stone steps, before reaching a large oak door.

"Ever' body here, then?" Hagrid asked searching the group once more. He then grinned, "Alrigh' then, firsties… Welcome ta' Hogwarts! Professor Flitwick is inside, waiting ter… debrief ya'!" He grabbed the big brass handle, and opened the heavy door wide for the first years, who all marched in silently.

The crowd entered a large hall like none of them had ever seen before. Moving portraits lined every inch of the wall, and creaking suits of armor stood at attention in each corner of the room. A wide staircase stood before them, and a tiny man with white hair stood on the seventh step from the bottom. The drastic change between the statures of Hagrid and this man took Drew a moment to get used to.

"Excuse me, students," He squeaked. "Can you all see me? Yes? Very good!" He beamed at the audience, receiving only looks of nervousness in return. "Ah, well don't look so excited!" He added sarcastically before delivering his speech.

"Welcome again, first years! My name is Professor Flitwick and I am both the deputy Headmaster, and the Head of Ravenclaw house! I'll be teaching Charms class to you all this year, and hope to see many of you in Ravenclaw! Ahead of you, is the fabled sorting ceremony. A school tradition that has been around since the days of the school founders, Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Salazar Slytherin, and of course, Rowena Ravenclaw! These four witches and wizards were the greatest of their day, and each gave their name to one of the Hogwarts houses. So, clearly, no matter where you are sorted, you are in good hands! Each house has its own noble history and alumni that have been very successful post Hogwarts. While here, your triumphs will earn your house points, and any rule breaking will lose points, all working towards the end of the year house cup ceremony. But before anything else, you have to survive seven years here!" Flitwick giggled at his apparent joke, but the eleven year olds in front of him were as silent as ever. "That was of course a joke on my part…" He muttered, looking slightly put out. "At any rate, your house will be like your family here, and I hope that you extend your friendships beyond your own house as well!" He finished with a smile. He proceeded to hop down the stone steps and walk to his left, where another set of oak doors stood. "Right this way." He motioned, and with a flick of his wand, the doors swung open gracefully.

The students followed in through the doors, in a single file line. More gasps could be heard from the first years as they slowly noticed the floating candles above their heads and the ceiling of the great hall that reflected the sky. A sliver of the moon could be seen, as well as a sea of stars surrounding it. The mood was set for the sorting of the first years, and the older students at each of the four tables looked in at them. Without Drew noticing it, Flitwick made his way to the front on the great hall, the staff table behind him, and an old ratty hat in his hand.

"Now, when I read your name off of this parchment, first years, you will come to the front and take a seat on this stool," He said, gesturing to a four legged stool to his left. "The sorting hat will be placed on your head and in return, it will place you into your house. But first, for its song." The hat was placed onto the stool, as it quickly sprung to life. A tear in it moved suspiciously like a mouth, as it took in a great amount of air, ready to sing.

"_To you young_

_students, I may look quite rusty_

_But over the years, I_

_proved quite trusty._

_I've judged the best_

_and the worst of their times,_

_Responsible for_

_heroics and hideous crimes._

_You can call me out,_

_and say what I did was wrong,_

_But first, I wish to_

_tell you the truth in this song._

_Through wars and_

_battles, I have survived so long,_

_The reasons for this_

_was me doing my job._

_To place young_

_magicians where they should be,_

_For even our founders_

_weren't perfect, you see._

_Godric the brave could_

_be quite stubborn,_

_Salazar the cunning_

_was mainly an upturn._

_Witty Rowena was all_

_but accepting_

_Kind old Helga was_

_afraid of rejecting._

_Though the greatest_

_Sorcerers of their day,_

_They were but mortal and_

_one day were slayed._

_Not in the fashion_

_that you may be used to,_

_But each fell for loss_

_of what they once held true._

_Slytherin stood apart_

_from the Hogwarts four,_

_His ambition and_

_cunning left him wanting for more._

_His beliefs were not_

_unlike most of his time,_

_But what he did next_

_was anything but fine._

_Shrewd Salazar created_

_a secretive chamber,_

_But the indirect_

_results were full of danger._

_A single boy whom you_

_all know,_

_Set it all right with_

_friends in tow._

_Those friends and help_

_all opened up doors,_

_Many a member of each_

_of the four._

_So remember this,_

_minds of the future,_

_Your house may be good_

_but none are quite super._

_For the wisest among_

_us of you tots,_

_Will stretch your arms_

_to all the lot._

_Chivalry, Resource,_

_studies and hard work,_

_Combined together can_

_be a fine perk."_

The sorting hat finished rattling its melody, and murmurs of discussion filled the hall, before the students settled down once again.

Drew shifted his feet nervously, but the next thing he heard took his mind off of his own insecurities.

"Acra, Ali." Flitwick squealed to the 70 or so first years ahead of him. Drew's eyes darted to his best friend next to him. Ali showed little emotion, though Drew thought he heard him gulp. Ali parted the

sea of first years and climbed the two steps leading to the stool, where he took a seat. Flitwick dropped the old brown hat upon Ali's head and it sprung to life once again. Drew didn't know what he hoped for Ali, but the decision was made before he put too much thought into it.

"_RAVENCLAW!"_ The hat cried out to the hall, and with cheers from the Ravenclaw table second from

the end, (And a short clap from Flitwick) the sorting ceremony had begun. After that news, Drew decided Ali being sorted into Ravenclaw house didn't surprise him all that much. He started to think about the two friends that he'd made on the train, Tyler and Alberto. After searching for them in the crowd quickly, he found them standing further back than he was from the front. Tyler had his usual nervous look, but Alberto seemed unaffected by the pressure of the situation.

Next up was a tiny boy named 'Baldwhick, Harold!' Who was sorted into Slytherin house. Looking content, he walked to the table on the far left side of the hall.

Next, 'Bobo, Chelsea!' and 'Buruca, Zulma!' Went to Slytherin and Hufflepuff respectively. Noticing the

alphabetical order, Drew realized he wouldn't be up for a while. He let his mind wonder for a while, soaking in hall, older students, and night sky above him. Though still subconsciously thinking about sorting and houses. He vaguely heard the name of the first Gryffindor sorted, (_'_Galloway, Miles!') but suddenly Drew noticed a girl, only a few feet away from him. She was a tad shorter than him, with deep blue eyes; her hair was blond and tied up behind her head. Drew had never seen anything like her…

"Gonzales, Nicolai!" Cried Flitwick, shouting the first name that Drew had recognized since Ali. The thick boy didn't move, only proceeding towards the front after Alberto, who happened to be standing behind him gave him a nudge. He walked up to the stool tensely, and sat down after turning himself around rather slowly. It only took the sorting hat brushing against a few of Nick's hairs to announce his house:

"_HUFFLEPUFF!" _The boy's face only lookeda tad less distraught as he trotted off to the table on Drew's right. Before he could even think about anything else, Drew heard Tyler's name called and prepared himself for what was next; him.

Tyler sat on the stool for longer than the other students before the hat declared his house's name.

"_SLYTHERIN!"_ Tyler's face was blank as he walked to the table beneath the emerald flag. Drew was shocked. That boy was in Slytherin? His shy demeanor and Muggle heritage contrasted this furiously. Drew momentarily dismissed this and ripped his head to the front, knowing that he was next. What felt like ice sliding down his ribcage blinded him as he heard,

"Henry, Drew!" He wasn't going to stumble around like Nick had, he decided as he forced his way through the crowd in front of him. His heart was slamming against his chest, and he felt like the whole great hall could hear it. He sat down and braced himself for the decision that would affect the rest of his life. Flitwick let the hat fall from his hand, and its gigantic brim fell straight over Drew's eyes.

"Oooh…" came a voice in Drew's ear. "Another difficult one, good! You're the type that keeps me on my toes (or lack thereof), Mr. Henry." It spoke again, its voice was thick with greasy pleasure that Drew wasn't really happy to give. "You're definitely a thinker, yes… Sorry to burst your bubble of modesty, there." Drew cringed, he hated being told that he was intelligent, it just wasn't something he valued all that much. "But, of course, you also want to be a doer, don't you?" There was another long awkward pause. "Courage is indeed here, but bravery comes quite cheap with younger crowds… Ah! But there's a strong moral compass I can sense. A certain chivalry and pride you have. Yes," The hat chuckled, "You're a bold one, Mr. Henry. So I shall satisfy your wishes here… _GRYFFINDOR!_" it shouted suddenly. Drew couldn't keep the smile off of his face as the hat was lifted off of his head, and he hopped off to the Gryffindor table on the far right of the hall. He was patted on the back by his new house mates as he took a seat on the bench under the large scarlet banner. It was emblazoned with a gold lion, who Drew could have sworn winked its eye at him when he sat down.

The sorting was quite long, and like the older students at his table, Drew grew bored of it quickly. He shook hands with Andrew Harvey, a member of the house quidditch team, as well as a few of his fellow first years.

"This better wrap up soon," Muttered Matthew Ray, a short but rather built first year. Drew nodded in agreement, all he was anxious to see now was the sorting of his new friend, Alberto. He had honestly hoped to see one of his carriage mates join him in Gryffindor, and was a bit disappointed that neither Ali nor Tyler would be joining him, but he supposed they could still be friends.

The line of first years shortened as each was sorted into their own house. Wasim Kabu, the boy from the train, had been sorted into Slytherin along with a few others. Alberto had started to doze off in apparent boredom. It was down to roughly half of the students left when Alberto had snapped back to life. Now he was starting to feel what the others had. He felt a lump in his throat the size of his fist, his mind buzzing with thoughts about which house colors he'd be wearing.

Just as he began to fall into another impatient lull, the teacher's voice came, bearing his name.

"Pizarro, Alberto!" Shouted Flitwick. He gazed around at the students sitting down, all eyes on him. _Wonderful. Everyone's attention's on me, now. _Alberto thought to himself as he nudged through what remained of the crowd. He stumble up the two small steps and sat down on the stool. He felt the sorting hat slide onto his head, as the tentacle like pieces of fabric coiled around his neck.

"My, my… Another hard bit of sorting here!" Whispered the sly voice greasily. "I can sense some courage here, oh yes… As well as a knack for adventure, though we can't say you're quite as chivalrous as Godric would have liked!" Wheezed the hat as if it were telling a very funny joke.

"Ah, I can see a healthy thirst for knowledge. Rowena would have found that admirable… But you wouldn't fit there, no. Doubt you'd be able to get into the commons, with this mind! Hmm. Mind you lad, this hat has never mis-sorted anyone. Slytherin seems to be your best choice, eh? A pureblood with ambitious goals, cunning of course, and a resourceful disregard for the rules! Yes – No... No? I see it now! You value loyalty, that's okay! No better friend than one of Helga's men! You'll do well here, with all of these traits! But never forget your place," After the self-bickering that almost gave Alberto a headache, the sorting hart smiled mischievously, its decision was made. "HUFFLEPUFF!"

Roars came from the Hufflepuff table as Alberto jumped off the stool. He quickly scanned the table for Nick who was sitting parallel from Drew across the hall. He scuffled off to join his friend. The house greeted him with pats on his back.

"Congrats, mate!" said Nick in a cheerful voice. Alberto grinned at him. He was the obviously over the frights of the previous adventures. McGonagall stood up smiling as she slid her wand out of her pocket and pointed it at her throat. Alberto came to the conclusion that the sorting was now over.

"Quiet please." was the roar that came from her small moving mouth. The body of students lowered their voices, going from whispers to silent shut mouths. "To all of You that were sorted. I am happy to congratulate you. I hope that your stay in your House is a pleasant one, since most of you may be here for the next seven years. These students are your family now. You may bicker and fight, but in the end. You are all great people. – Now if I may say. That chicken is looking dashingly good." A grin appeared on McGonagall's face as her eyes glimmered. Alberto threw his Head around to notice the big chicken leg on the table. He mouth began salivating.

"Boy, does this look... – "

"Amazing!" Nicolai cut in. Nick began munching on every piece of food he could find. Alberto laughed hysterically wondering whether or not Nick had ever had a feast. A House Elf crawled from under the table, greeting them as he handed each of them a Goblet of Pumpkin Juice. Alberto thanked him, as he began taking a sip from his Goblet Nick smelled it, quickly putting it down.

"Think I can have some Coca-Cola?" He asked. The house elf looked at him unknowingly. "Excuse me sir, but we do not have that here." Alberto shook his head, how could Nicolai expect Muggle drinks outside of a Muggle Location?

"Yeah well, can you go get me some please?" he said a bit house elf nodded.

"But, master… Where can I find such thing?" Nick shrugged and mumbled 'London,' and without a second to think, the Elf vanished. The big boy turned back to his food and continued eating. Alberto pulled his wand out, and threw a small red spark at. Nick's arm that stung him.

"Why'd you do that!" demanded Alberto. Nick seemed Lost. Alberto shook his head and frowned. "They're servants. They do whatever you ask them to do. Now he's probably gone off stumbling through London looking for kokee coal-."

"- Coca Cola-."

"Whatever! He has to do whatever is asked of him." Alberto glared at this display of ignorance and Nick looked hurt once again.

"Well, I hope he finds it!" Tears fell from the boy's face, and Alberto rolled his eyes. This kid would be hard to live with for the next seven years.

As Alberto leaned in to grab his untouched food- It vanished. He was now staring blankly at an empty plate. He had been Starving and now it was time to hit the dorms.

McGonagall had arisen from the table once more.

"Will first years please follow their House prefect to their dormitories. This is where you'll be

sleeping. As of now, I'd like to make it clear that anyone caught out of bed after hours will have to report to detentions on the weekends… Have a goodnight!" She finished lightly.

Prefects began calling their students towards them. Alberto followed.


	5. Every Gift has a Price

CHAPTER FIVE: **Every Gift Has a Price**

Alberto stumbled into the crowd of students as they shuffled out into the Entrance hall. He observed the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws climb off towards the Grand staircase to their common rooms.

"Follow me first years!" shouted an older girl over the chattering eleven year olds. She walked towards the corridor located to the left of the Great hall. Trotting toward of a bunch of barrels, she waited to be surrounded before speaking.

"Listen up, please!" She came in a peppy voice. "This'll be the entrance to our commons, first years. We sleep here! I'll show you how to get in, pay attention carefully, because if you don't, you'll stink!" She giggled lightly before directing her wand to the barrels and tapping them. "HEL-GA-HUF-LE-PUFF" She said, tapping a different barrel with each syllable. The final barrel swung open to reveal a passageway to crawl through, and the peppy prefect crawled through. Alberto stumbled forward in amazement as he was the first to make his way into the common room. He made a mental note of the pattern, sure not to forget it.

"So what if you mess up?" piped up a voice from behind Alberto.

"Well… You get doused in vinegar! So best not to mess up unless you fancy the smell!" Was the reply that triggered many 'Ew!'s from the girls. The next sight would be a memory Alberto wouldn't soon forget. The room was decorated in the cheerful, bee-like colors of yellow and black, emphasized by the use of highly polished, honey-colored wood for the tables and the round doors which lead to the boys' and girls' dormitories. Round doors stood open and students were strolling in and out with Goblets in their hands.

A slightly older boy walked up to the fascinated first year.

"You look like you're fresh off of a broom! My name's Danny, second year. As a Hufflepuff, it's rule to introduce ourselves to all new people we come across. We're the social house." He said in a most welcoming voice. Alberto glanced at him from head to toe. He was also wearing muggle clothing. In fact his whole house was wearing it.

"I'm Albert. Alberto Pizarro!" He took his hand and shook it firmly. Danny gave him a tour of the room introducing him to a bunch of other second years, but for every new person it seemed his stomach would remind him more and more of the fact that he hadn't had a bite at the feast.

"I'm guessing you're a pureblood kid." Observed Danny.

"Clothes?" Danny nodded. There wasn't anything Alberto could do about it at this point. The clothes he had packed had all been closed robes and dress robes for when he fancied.

"Come on, take me to your chest. I've got some clothes I could lend you. Old but they'll do." He quickly stood and walked into the first year boy's dormitory which was located in the cellar. He noticed the perfectly circular doors, with lots of little underground tunnels leading off from the common room. One of them lead to the girls' dormitories, the other to the boys'.

As he walked into his new dormitory, he took notice of the four-poster beds covered in patchwork quilts, and just to the right was his chest and his owl on top of his new bed.

"They've already brought everything in!" He grinned as he unloaded everything from his trunk onto the end of the bed post. He took great care hanging his shrunken head on the side of one of the posts.

"What is… that!" Danny asked, aghast at the sight of such a thing.

"Al fin. Puedo respirar!" Spat the unstitched mouth of the head, in slick Spanish.

"Yo se. Ya basta, te callas okay? Que maldita hambre tengo hacere." Replied Alberto as he finished unpacking. "This is my er… pet. He's a shrunken head named Chi-Chi. My dad brought him over from Spain…" Alberto said, answering Danny's curiosity.

"Well anyway… those should fit you." Danny slowly returned, tossing Alberto his robes.

"Thanks- Oi, wait!" He said catching the second year before he could make his exit. "Do you reckon I can still get something to eat?"

"Sure. The kitchen's right outside the barrels. There's a portrait. Tickle the pear." Finally free, Danny disappeared into the crowd of rowdy Hufflepuff students. Alberto followed behind and head out the common room back into the kitchen corridor.

As he entered the corridor, he turned his head to the right to notice a portrait of a bowl of fruit. He leaned up and gently scratched the bottom of the pear. A laugh could be heard, as the pear transformed into a small green knob. Alberto turned the knob and opened the portrait to reveal what looked like the same tables In the great hall. He stumbled inside leaving the door open behind him. There had been more than one hundred house elves inside the kitchen working.

"Is there something you need Master?" squeaked a nearby elf sporting a hand towel toga.

"Yes! I'd like a sandwich. Tomato, honey ham & Mozzarella cheese! Do you think that'd be possible, mate?"

"Why, of course sir." And without further ado, the elf scurried out of sight for a few moments, coming back with a dish and the most delicious looking morsel Alberto had seen in a while. Pleased, he thanked the small elf, and turned back out, closing the portrait behind him. He looked around the corridor before scampering back to the barrel entrance to his common room. A few steps in, Alberto felt an odd sensation. What felt like a swoosh of air shot through him, blowing his brown hair back, and… stealing his sandwich!

"Oooh a first year snack surprise! Hee hee! A yummy dummy sandy for my hungry hungry tummy!" It was a poltergeist that taunted him, bald headed and short, wearing a striped suit fit for a clown, it stuck it's tongue out at Alberto and flew towards him. Alberto jumped back, frightened. "BOOGIDY WOOGIDY! Is the wittle firstie scared?"

"I'm not… Just please let me have my sandwich back! I haven't eaten a thing tonight." Alberto reached for it, but he simply flew out of reach.

"Don't see 'firstie twerp' written on it so it belongs to Peeves! Hahaha!" At that moment Peeves flew down the corridor and into the Entrance hall. Determined to get his sandwich back, Alberto chased him. He followed Peeves into the dungeons he started to climb down the spiraling flight of stairs that he last saw Peeves go through. As he turned the corner he looked over to see none other than Tyler and Wasim- the new Slytherins from the train- being cornered by Peeves.

"Kicked out of your own commons? Nasty choice done by the stinky hat! Two more firsties seem to be in twubble!" Peeves laughed before raspberrying towards them obnoxiously. Alberto pulled out his wand and sent sparks flying towards Peeves.

"Alberto! Get away from this loon before the teachers get here!" Yelped Tyler, seeming concerned.

"Are the scary teachers what has gotten you firsty's painties in a bunch?" Peeves laughed hysterically, grabbing near by vases and tossing them towards the first years, as well as knocking down a suit of armor. The clatter against the dungeon floor seemed to echo throughout the entire castle. Tyler and Wasim were doing a sort of dance as they managed to dodge the vases that peeves sent crashing upon them.

"Try to dodge this lads!" Peeves flew towards the damp ceiling and yanked the chain of a hanging chandelier. It erupted onto the floor, Tyler's face took the impact of the ricocheting shards of glass. Blood seeped from above his eyebrow instantly, and he collapsed onto the stone floor.

"You're next, scaredy cat!" Cackled Peeves, maliciously eyeing Wasim, the mousy boy from the pure blood compartment.

Alberto watched in horror as Peeves lifted the sword from next to the fallen suit of armor, and heaved it over his shoulder, gliding toward the dark haired boy. Alberto's next movement felt unnatural to him, having to rely on magic his whole life, he sprinted towards Wasim and shoved him out of the way- just in time to avoid the clanging impact of Peeve's adopted sword and the cold dungeon wall.

He grabbed Tyler and Wasim by their Robes and pulled them so that They would follow him up the stair case out of the dungeons and away from the mental poltergeist below.

"But don't you want your sandy, hero boy?" Peeves cackled as he followed behind them. Alberto looked around as they entered the grand stair case. _Where do I go..?_ Raced through his mind. He ran with them up the the Entrance hall Staircase and went towards the right to the first floor.

"We've got to hide."

"I think we need to take Tyler to the hospital wing… He's been cut." Said Wasim, panting. Neither his nor Alberto's bodies were quite used to such an effort. Alberto glanced at him.

"What? He'll be fine. Peeve's is bound to find us if we're out in the open!" Tyler lifted his face from his hands to show the extent of Peeve's damage. A single deep cut across his brow made Alberto shiver.

"It looks rough… Worse would've happened to me if he had gotten that sword to me." Wasim sputtered. Looking down at his uninjured body, and then finally back to his rescuer. "Suppose I owe you one." Alberto noted this, before He looked up at the Grand stair case. Not an inch of wall above was shown as it was covered by Portraits of Witches and Wizards from before their time with a few lamps to give the room a warm cozy feel. Along with these visuals the stairs seemed constantly shift from left to right changing the direction to which they led.

Peeves swooshed up the stairs, chunking Alberto's sandwich dish at his head (narrowly missing) Alberto turned around and looked at Peeves, hoping he could be reasoned with, he took a big breath and slowly opened his mouth.

"Peeves… Tyler's hurt. We need you to show us the infirmary. Please!" He whispered, begging.

"So Tie-Dye wants to Die, does he? My, well isn't that a pity... so young! Peeve's can show you, but he doesn't have tooooooo!" He laughed hysterically again.

"Peeves, are you messing with students from MY house." Came a raspy voice that sent a cold feeling down the three boys' spines. A small pop was heard, and Peeves had completely disappeared. Relieved, everyone looked over to see the Bloody Baron floating towards them, a silvery ghost, dressed as if he had stepped off of a pirate ship- one where he had been captain. Alberto smiled at him.

"Are you a Hufflepuff?" There was no response for a while, before another raspy note hit the air.

"These boys are in Slytherin house, they reside under me."

"Oh, pardon me, sir. I'm a Slytherin, of course… but would you know where the Hospital Wing is? My friend has gotten his face right messed up by Peeves." Piped up Wasim.

"Yes…Follow me." Feeling relief for the moment. The boys now took their time to look in at their new home. They followed the Bloody Baron up the steps to the fourth floor corridor.

"Okay. There is a small stair case that will lead into the Hospital Wing. Are you lads aware how to get back to your commons?"

"No erm, do you mind taking me back?" asked Wasim bashfully. The Bloody Baron nodded before glancing at Alberto.

"Yes, I'll be fine. I'll walk with Tyler to the Hospital Wing." Wasim smiled.

"Remember, I owe you." Alberto nodded.

They all left and went their separate ways. Tyler and Alberto kept walking towards the end of the fourth corridor. The staircase stood in front of them. Alberto smiled at Tyler as they walked up. He decided to strike up a conversation

"How's the first day for you?"

"Went smashing… Until they kicked me out of the common room. All because I'm a muggle born. Wasim was booted too. I think it was because I let him see my Gameboy. He was caught holding it, and… Slytherins don't seem to like muggle things, much. He's probably going to be cross with me."

Alberto couldn't process the words. He began to wonder if blood purity was really a problem at Hogwarts. The door was swung open by Madam Pomfrey who apparently sensed them coming, or heard the ruckus.

"Peeves did this?"

"Yes ma'am." She analyzed Tyler's slash.

"This is too much, even for him. Come in here." She escorted them inside the hospital wing and sent Tyler to lay down on one of the beds. Alberto walked up to him.

"Listen… It's best I get back to my common room. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Alright, thanks. I appreciate the help today… Er. You're a good guy." He nodded and gave his farewell to Madam Pomfrey. As he walked out he closed the door behind him and sat down on the staircase. His stomach moaned, he still hadn't eaten a thing, and his night was awful. But… he seemed to had made a bond with two Slytherins- a house that seemed to be hard to get on with. He was glad to have friends so soon.

_All that trouble for a bloody sandwich.._ He chuckled to himself. He'd already had an adventure at Hogwarts. Hogwarts was full of secrets. Secrets that he wanted to find out. He had decided that exploring every nook and cranny in Hogwarts was to be his objective over the seven years that he would be here; he'd be a great explorer.


	6. Dream Girls and Mean Girls

**CHAPTER SIX: Dream Girls and Mean Girls**

Drew left Gryffindor tower that morning in somewhat of a rush. He hadn't slept well that night, and wasn't particularly fond of his roommates as of now. His dormitory was obnoxious post feast. Matthew Ray and Christopher Patil were the two Gryffindors that stuck out the most. Matthew was squat and muscular for his age, while Christopher was massive, nearly as tall as Tyler, with twice the girth. The duo snuck food up, and blared rock music from Patil's radio- in apparent celebration of being sorted into Hogwarts' 'best' house. The two were obviously fast friends, but Drew wasn't sure that he wanted them as traveling companions to breakfast this morning. In the back of his mind, Drew wondered whether or not he was the odd ball in the house. Maybe he wasn't a true Gryffindor?

He wasn't completely alone in this house. His older cousin, Kelsi was around somewhere, as a third year Gryffindor, though she had yet to be seen. Drew figured that she was part of the crowd of older girls that flocked to the common room just before curfew last night, but hadn't pondered this too much. The two first cousins got on fairly well when Kelsi was on break from Hogwarts, though occasional shouting matches were known to occur. Drew thought that maybe it had to do with the two being similarly pigheaded. He told himself that the sorting hat never missorted, and shook it out of his mind. Besides, he was plenty brave. Nobody ever said that you had to be loud to be a Gryffindor.

Other than the rowdy pair that slept to Drew's left, his dorm room was occupied by 2 more strangers. Sharing Gryffindor boy's dormitory 1a was Miles Galloway and Emile McGinnis. Miles, like Drew, was silent for the night, and Emile only seemed to let out loud groans in protest to Ray's and Patil's ruckus.

Drew's solo descent towards the great hall was a long one. Having to wait on seven flights of stairs to decide that they would swing onto his level and allow him to use them. It seemed to take eternity, and his back ached from his spell book carrying bag on slung over his shoulder by the time that he reached the entrance hall and walked through the open oak doors that led into the great hall.

Most of the students seemed to be down here, already dining on provided breakfast, but once arriving at the Gryffindor table, Drew realized he'd be eating in silence, as there was nobody to talk to. Before sitting down at the wooden bench, he peered at the other tables. Alberto sat across the hall at the Hufflepuff table, hastily eating everything in sight. Drew hesitated for a moment, wondering if it would break school rules, but decided to go ahead and join Alberto at the Hufflepuff table anyway.

Alberto looked up from his buttered toast and offered a muffled greeting through his mouthful of food.

"Hey mate, not sure if this is allowed, but…" Drew sat down on the empty section of wood to Alberto's right. He instantly received curious looks from the yellow badged students around him, but he ignored it.

"I don't think they'd discourage interhouse mingling," Said a voice from behind Alberto. Ali swung his leg over the seat next to Drew and sat down, his new silver and blue Ravenclaw badge gleaming. Drew smiled at his two new friends.

"So, how was the night for you two? Real unfortunate about you lot not making it into the good house, by the way." Drew said, smirking. The Hufflepuff table around him glared, but Alberto just let out a snort.

"I dunno about that, mate! My new family is known as the party house, ya know," Drew looked skeptical. "But last night was insane… No, not the partying, I snuck out of bed!" Alberto whispered the last part, but the gleam of excitement in his eyes was undeniable.

"You've already broken school rules, man?" Ali retorted, a mixture of admiration and concern on his face. Alberto nodded and told them the story of what happened with Peeves, Wasim, and Tyler's new injury.

"Woah, mate. You've already had an adventure and I haven't even had a class yet! I'm the Gryffindor!" Drew said, with a hint of jealousy, though a smile remained on his face. "I hope Ty is alright we'll have to visit him after classes… My rents told me about Peeves, but I had no idea that he'd try and _kill_ you! What business do they have keeping a thing like that around here?"

"He's a poltergeist, Drew. You can't simply get rid of them… sounds like Alberto and Tyler were lucky as it is to have the Baron on their side. He sounds creepy, himself." Ali said, staring at his sausage in concentration. Alberto shook his head.

"I guess he's related to Slytherin in some way. He said he was watching out for Wasim and Tyler."

Ali nodded and explained about House ghosts before changing the subject.

"Hey… did either of you expect to see Tyler as a Slytherin? I did my research, and… He definitely doesn't seem to fit the bill." Drew shrugged. He'd thought about this last night, and decided it was best to just accept it. Gryffindor and Slytherin were notoriously rivals, but he had no reason to dislike Tyler. This Wasim boy on the other hand,

"Al, I'm not sure you should be hanging out with that Wasim bloke. Remember what happened on the train? If he's one of those pure blood supremacists, he's no good." Drew said, his voice firm, as he looked up to Alberto. Alberto hesitated, wondering whether or not to tell his friends about his own family's beliefs, deciding against it in the end.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. He said he owed me one, though. Couldn't let him die!" Drew smiled and agreed, though secretly wishing he were the one up to the heroics. Proud of his friend, of course, he lifted his goblet of pumpkin juice into the air.

"To Alberto Pizzaro. The bravest Hufflepuff of 'em all!" Alberto and Ali laughed, but joined Drew in the toast. The surrounding Hufflepuffs seemed to have had enough of this bashing, and shooed Drew and Ali off to their own tables.

"See ya in class!" Drew managed to shout at his friends before strolling back to the Gryffindor table.

As he sat down at the Gryffindor table at last, his smile faded. Sitting across from him was Matthew Ray, and next to him sat the large Christopher Patil.

"Oi, Henry. What're you playing at?" Ray said abruptly, his eyebrow raised.

"What do you mean?"

"We were only sorted last night, and you're already tired of being a Gryff? Well maybe we don't want ya." Matthew Ray spat.

"Tired of being a Gryffindor? What the hell, mate? I can't have friends in other houses?" Drew returned. The two across him shook their heads in apparent disgust. Drew crossed his arms and leaned against the table. Suddenly, he didn't feel much like eating breakfast.

Headmistress McGonagall made the announcement that the first years were to look at their schedules in the entrance hall and report to their first period classes promptly at eight thirty. Drew, decidedly not hungry, was the first to march out and view his schedule.

_First Year Gryffindor_

_Monday- Defense Against the Dark Arts_

_Astronomy_

_History of Magic_

It looked like an easy day to Drew. He might be able to actually practice magic immediately first period in DADA. He peered over at the other first year schedules posted on the board. He'd have first period with the Hufflepuffs, second period with the Ravenclaws, and third with the Slytherins. He'd be able to have class with his new friends today, and could probably avoid furthering his predicament with Ray and Patil.

A single pair of footsteps could be heard from behind Drew, and he spun around to get a glimpse at who else was calling breakfast early. A thick girl who stood a few inches taller than Drew had entered the entrance hall. He could tell that by her badge, she was also a Gryffindor.

"First year?" Drew asked politely, not having seen the girl before.

"Yes sir." She replied. "What've we got?"

"Defense against the Dark Arts with the Puffs, Astronomy with the Claws, and History of Magic with the Slytherins." She contorted her face when the last house was listed.

"Thanks." She said simply as she turned on her heel. She walked towards the great hall once again before pausing and turning back. "Oh, sorry. I'm Tiffany. My mum says I need to work on my social skills." Drew laughed at this before introducing himself. "I heard what those two gits said to you at the table, by the way. I don't think it's wrong to talk to people in other houses. It's gutsy of you, though. I 'spose that's why you're in Gryffindor." She smiled after contemplating this, and finally made her exit.

Drew decided that she would make a decent friend that was within his house, and put to rest his worry about being in the wrongly sorted.

Somewhere far above him, a bell rang and instantly students began to sprint out of the great hall to check their schedules and hurry to their classes. Hoping to catch Alberto, Drew drifted away from the incoming crowds and waited for Alberto to escape from the clip board.

"Looks like we've got DADA together, mate!" Drew said breathily as he caught up to the lone Hufflepuff.

"Oh, brilliant! Have you got any idea where it is? It didn't say on the schedule." Alberto gasped as he narrowly avoided a blitzing upperclassman. Drew realized he hadn't a clue where anything in the castle was other than his own common room (If he even knew that).

"No, erm… we need to ask somebody." Just as he completed his sentence, he dodged a rather ugly faced boy who went rocketing down the staircase to see his classes. _This is madness_ was all that he could think.

"Oh, Danny!" Alberto reached into the stream of students and nudged his fellow Hufflepuff. The second year boy looked a bit peeved, but came towards the two first years.

"How can I help you?"

"We need directions to the DADA classroom. Think you can help? Er… this is Drew by the way. He's in Gryffindor." Alberto said, introducing his friends. Danny nodded to Drew before answering.

"Try your best to take the stairs up to the third floor. That'll be Professor Lynwood's class. It'll be the first door on the right wall." Obviously in a hurry, Danny looked between the two younger boys as if to check for understanding before darting off.

"Okay, third floor. Let's go." Drew muttered, leading the way into the sea of children.

The journey up was a brutal one. The hectic crowds bustled their ways onto the moving staircases, everyone trying to make it to their new classes on the first day of school. The two small boys didn't stand much of a chance against the older students and were shoved many a time on their way up. Finally reaching the third floor, Drew swung open the classroom door, and the two soaked in their surroundings quickly.

The classroom looked dull. A blackboard sat in the front of the class, and bookshelves boarded in the lines of desks in the center. Drew and Alberto plopped down in the very middle of the room, sitting side by side. Scoping out the room, many faces were recognized. Drew was glad to see Miles and Emile from his dormitory as well as Tiffany from earlier in the day. Many more Gryffindor boys and girls were unrecognizable to Drew, but his eyes popped at the sight he saw in the back of the room. It was the blue eyed girl! The girl that stood near him before the sorting. He lost track of her during the sorting, but it was apparent by her badge that she was sorted into Hufflepuff house. Drew couldn't take his eyes off of her until something else grabbed his attention. The massive body of Christopher Patil and the slow swaggering walk of Matthew Ray obstructed his view of the blue eyed girl. The pair took seats around her, and Drew felt his head get hot with jealousy.

"Class, settle down. The bell will be ringing shortly." droned a voice from the front of the class. A squat balding man with glasses had entered the room from a back door, and was now levitating a piece of chalk towards his black board.

"This guy sounds like a real bore." piped up Alberto glumly. Drew sighed and rested his head on his hand, still thinking of a way to introduce himself to the blue eyed girl without seeming too forward.

Alberto took the free time to point out his dorm mates, and Drew was jarred away from the Hufflepuff girl.

"We're in Hufflepuff boys' dorm C, the five of us. Me, Nick Gonzales," Alberto rolled his eyes, "Dylan Drool, What a name on that guy! And a couple of blokes named Lance and John." Drew watched as Alberto waved at the three other boys, (And scowled at Nicolai).

"Looks like a good crowd. Better than I've got, at least. See that big guy over there and the squeaky git next to him?" Drew asked gesturing to the back, "That's Christopher Patil and Matthew Ray. The loud mouths wouldn't let the rest of us sleep last night. They're part of the reason I sat with you badgers this morning at breakfast." Alberto nodded understandingly.

The bell rang and those students that were socializing hustled into their seats.

"Good morning class, and welcome to Defense against the Dark Arts one. I am professor Lynwood. Now as first years, I understand that all of this is very new to you, but I'd like to lay out a few ground rules." Lynwood smiled something that seemed to give off a reassuring look.

"First of all, by the time the bell rings, I expect all of you to be in your seats. None of this socializing that I saw this morning shall be acceptable after today. Next, wands must stay securely inside of your robes. At certain points in class I will allow you to use your wand, but otherwise it is expected that you refrain from foolish wand waving.

Now, when a question is posed to you, I expect a raised hand, and I will call on you. You will of course be rewarded with house points in the class, and deducted them for misbehavior. Detentions will be assigned for major infractions… Other than that, kids, I suppose this is a fun class! We'll talk about monsters and all things that bump in the night! Does that sound swell to everyone?" Lynwood's attempt at reaching out to the class was denied, and the class remained silent. Wands inside of robes? This wasn't exactly what the children wanted to be hearing.

"Yes, professor!" Replied Tiffany after a few silent beats, attempting to make the professor feel better about his rejected notion.

"Er… thank you, Miss…?"

"Goyle. Tiffany Goyle." replied the tall Gryffindor girl, and Drew's stomach dropped. Goyle? That name… it was the same as a vile woman he knew, Millicent Goyle. She worked at WizEd and was in fact his primary school teacher for the first few years of his education. She was awful, and a Hogwarts alumnus. Drew couldn't be sure, but he thought he recalled a green and silver banner located behind her teaching desk. Could there be any relation between that woman and his class mate? He hoped not.

"Now, class, I'd like to start with your books. Get out your copies of Defense one, and we'll get started on that curriculum!"

The class drug on in a lull. Lynwood guided them through reading the introductions to both their Defense books and Miranda Goshawk's Standard Book of Spells. Drew's interest faded after learning that no magic would be learned today, and his mind wondered into a dreamlike state.

He pictured himself fighting off swarms of acromantula (A spider monster depicted in Defense one's Introduction page). Armed with only his Apple wood wand, he gave a valiant effort, and came out victorious. The blue eyed Hufflepuff girl was slowly walking- was she walking? No- Gliding towards him, as she leaned in for a kiss. He puckered his lips to receive his hero's reward and… The bell rang.

Alberto grinned at Drew's startled reaction. He leaned down to grab his book bag and shook his head.

"You're a right astronomer, man." He said, waiting for Drew to gather his things. Drew chuckled airily before replying.

"Yeah… Lynwood sure knows how to keep an audience." He breathed sarcastically, inspire a laugh on Alberto's part.

"Well we're supposed to actually learn something tomorrow, according gramps. So bring some more effort for that!" Alberto jeered to Drew as the two exited. He didn't want to hassle his friend, but it did bother him when people slacked. Though, to be fair, he wasn't the hardest worker around. "Let's meet in the great Hall after classes, alright? This school needs to be rightly explored!" Alberto said enthusiastically. Drew nodded eagerly in agreement to the plans, and waved goodbye.

The two boys parted ways in the corridor, and Alberto was relieved to find out that the potions class room was in the previously explored dungeons. The trip was literally downhill from where he was, and he managed to sift through the stream of students with ease.

Entering the eerie dungeons wasn't a pleasant experience. A steady drip could be heard as Alberto took the spiraling staircase from the entrance hall down, and descended into the emerald hue of the potions corridor. As he reached the landing, Alberto found a friendlier sight than the damp grey bricks. Tyler Harper stood outside of the apparent classroom, his head wrapped in a bandage, and a droopy smiled upon his face.

"Tyler! I didn't expect you out so soon! Drew, Ali and I were planning on visiting you after classes." Alberto explained. Tyler grinned as he walked towards his friend.

"Madam Pomfrey fixed me up right. She said the scar would be gone in about a month, and she dosed me up on something called 'Wiggenweld' potion for the pain." Tyler smacked his lips. "It makes me feel good. All fuzzy n' that." Alberto laughed heartily. He could tell that Tyler was a tad tipsy.

The two walked into their potions class to view an analyzing fat man sitting at the front. His walrus moustache twitched slightly at the sight of Tyler's head wound, but nothing was said.

"Do you know this bloke's name?" Alberto whispered up towards Tyler as the pair took seats at the lab table towards the back.

"Yeah, he's professor Slughorn. He's the Head of my house. We met him last night, before me and Wasim got kicked out." Tyler slurred as he slammed his 'Beginner Potions 101' book down on the desk. "Didn't you lot meet your heads?" Tyler giggled as this left his mouth. "Your heads…" Alberto snorted in amusement.

"No, I haven't a clue who the others are." Alberto scratched his head, wondering who could possibly be the head of Hufflepuff house, before finally asking somebody near him. "Oi, you!" He called to a girl with dark hair sitting parallel from him. "Know who the head of Hufflepuff is?" The girl frowned at him before lifted up her school badge and sneering.

"Erm, I'm like, in Slytherin. Do I _look _like I know the first thing about Hufflepuff?" She stabbed, her serpent engraved badge gleaming in the low light. Alberto furrowed his brow.

"Well, excuse me, Medusa. Didn't see your snake there." He shot back angrily. The girl spun around in her seat and faced the front, obviously done with this encounter.

"Er, if you really want to know who our head of house is, we've got her next period. Professor Hunnicutt. She's new… teaches transfigurations." Came a dainty voice from behind Alberto and Tyler. It was the blue eyed Hufflepuff girl that Drew couldn't seem to stop staring at in Defense against the Dark Arts. Alberto wondered whether or not he should point this fact out, but decided against it.

"Thanks, I'm Alberto." He said smiling at the blonde girl.

"Brooke." She replied, returning a polite smile of her own. Alberto turned back to Tyler.

"See how much better my house is than yours? It's a wonderful feeling, knowing that if you need something, a house mate will help you!" Tyler nodded in agreement before letting lose a hiccup. A snort could be heard from the dark haired Slytherin girl across from them.

Another bell rang, and class was underway. Professor Slughorn was a rather jolly teacher, and compared to Lynwood, he was quite enjoyable. He explained that class would be leisurely this week, and decided to spend the period recalling many of the students' relatives. (Brooke Monroe's older sister, Dylan Drool's older brother, miscellaneous parents from many students.) He rounded out the call by asking a few potion related trivia questions. The dark haired girl, apparently named Gianni Neal, was awarded five house points for Slytherin by answering a question about Wiggenweld potion, beating out Tyler who was preoccupied by reading the 'silly' names cited in his text book.

Class ended, and Alberto patted Tyler on the back.

"Alright mate, I'll meet you in the great hall after school, ok?" Tyler nodded, obviously coming down from his potion induced high. On his way to the door Alberto caught the eye of another Slytherin who was soundless throughout the period, Wasim. Wasim gave Alberto a dead stare, one that Alberto held on his conscious for the rest of the day.

The last period of the day seemed to fly by quicker than the rest. Drew was fast a work taking notes on the history of modern Wizarding London in History of Magic, and Alberto enjoyed meeting his head of house and learning a few simple wand movements in transfiguration. When the final bell rang, the two boys (with Ali and Tyler in tow) shot off towards the Great Hall, which they found conveniently empty as most students had retreated to their common rooms.

"Where to first?" Drew asked, as the four congregated in the empty dining hall. The other three boys seemed to think for a moment before all blurting out their answers.

"I want to see what kind of creatures we can spot near the forest and lake!" said Ali.

"We need to go exploring the castle! I heard there were a ton of secrets!" was Alberto's suggestion.

"I say we sneak up to the hospital wing and knick the rest of Madam Pomfrey's Wiggenweld potion!"

The boys all stared at Tyler in awkward silence for a moment before his giggled bashfully and said, "Only joking…"

The problem on their hands was one that would not be easily solved. Ali and Alberto were firm on what they wanted to do, and Drew did his best to mediate.

"Look, guys," He said after a few minutes of arguing, "Let's do both. Starting inside, we'll go exploring. We've got an hour until dinner, so thirty minutes of exploring for each. Deal?" Drew offered, exasperated. Glaring at each other for what felt like hours, Alberto and Ali finally conceded.

"Fine."


	7. A Knave, a Rascal, and the Rest

**CHAPTER SEVEN: A Knave, a Rascal, an Eater of Broken Meats**

Alberto, Ali, and Tyler trotted behind Drew as the foursome exited the Great Hall and headed into the up the main staircase. Alberto's mind made countless scenarios of the grand adventure's soon to unfold. Ali had his mind set on the things that waited for them on their outdoor exploration as his eyes had darted towards the door that led to the courtyard. Tyler seemed to be in a daze, whether it was the lingering effects of the Wiggenweld potion, or something else was left unseen. But alas, Drew trudged on, leading the way up stairs.

"So, Alberto, where to first?" questioned Drew, heaving open the door that led to the grand staircase. Alberto shrugged. The castle was still an utter mystery to the boys, one that needed to be solved, in his opinion. "Floor by Floor it is guys." Drew muttered in response to the silence he received. The boys caught the first flight up towards the first floor. Upon arrival, they were met by an unfamiliar voice.

"Well, If it isn't Ali Acra!" shouted a boy wearing an open chested robe with a blue emblem.

"Who's that?" Drew enquired slowly.

"He's a fellow Ravenclaw, name is-"

"William Kidd. Or Bill, if you prefer." Cut in the blonde boy, his glasses reflecting the light from the chandelier dangling above. Alberto, Drew and Tyler shook hands with the boy, but by the look on Ali's face, they knew something more was to come of this.

"Hey, Bill. Where's-" Ali began once again.

"Here I am!" Squealed an apparent carbon copy of William, albeit female form.

"Guys, this is Bonnie, William's twin sister." Ali introduced sheepishly, obviously feeling obligated to do so. The boys stood in the awkward silence for a few moments before another obnoxious squeal filled it.

"Oooh, I know you!" pointed out Bonnie loudly, as she pointed at Alberto. The boy beamed, his mind raced to thoughts of fame_. She must've heard about our night with peeves_.

"Yeah, I'm already a bit of a legend around here, Peeves probably wants my head now, though!"

"Huh? No…" the grin on Alberto's face vanished, transferring to Drew's. "You've recorded the longest sorting time in Hogwarts history!" she said with excitement. "Merlin's beard! How could you not know?" she roared. Alberto swallowed a lump of disappointment. Ali and Tyler joined in on Drew's smirk fest.

"Five minutes and forty-eight seconds by my count. Reckon your ass cheeks started stick to the stool!" added William crudely. Alberto shrugged. The group looked around uncomfortably, once again triggering silence.

"Well yeah, we've got places to go. Nice to meet you." Drew added, smiling politely as he drifted away, hoping his friends would follow.

"Sorry, Bill. But we're going to be off. We've got lots of exploring to do!" Ali shouted behind him as he jogged to catch the moving staircase with the others.

"Exploring?" William's voice rang out.

"The Castle." Drew replied reluctantly. William and Bonnie exchanged looks for a split second. Alberto could the quick calculations the two were making.

"We know lots about the passages in the school and what not… if that's what you guys are interested in." Alberto's eyes popped and he instantly gestured the twins over.

"Great! Show us what you've got, then!"

"How do two know so much about the castle already?" asked Drew, his voice steady, though his look showed suspicion.

"Books." The twins answered in unison.

The boys stared as William took the lead, and Bonnie pulled a book out of his backpack.

"Come on! We'll take you to the classic passage of the One Eyed Witch."

The group of first years traveled up the remaining staircases to the third floor.

"Er… where are we going?" Tyler stammered nervously.

"Third floor, just outside of Defense against Dark Arts." Bonnie muttered, her nose buried in the book. She seemed to have left her obnoxious self two floors back.

They headed down the hall way near reaching the end. Light shined brightly through the windows lightening the hall in a warm glow. Students lounged against the windows soaking up sun, reading books to pass the time or playing with the cards collected from packages of chocolate frogs. Reaching the end of the hall, the twins came to a halt. To the group's left was a statue of Gunhilda of Gorsemoor. The details on the statue left the boys in awe.

Her hump watched over her back. It reminded Alberto of a hill he often visited as a child. Her right eye was missing, the remaining one seemed to stare into your soul, Tyler in particular shuttered at the figure. She held her wand in her left hand, holding a cane that seemed to be made out of the roots of a tree coiling over one straight root. Her were robes excessively long, collecting on the floor. She was an impressive sight, when one looked closely, but Alberto could understand why people may overlook the statue on most occasions.

"She was a healer y'know. Cured Dragon pox!" William informed. Tyler lifted an eyebrow at the sound of the disease, but said nothing.

"Too bad she couldn't cure that hump of hers." Drew chuckled. Alberto couldn't take his eyes off of her for the moment.

"There's something beautiful about her, though." He whispered.  
>Bonnie slid her wand out from inside her robes and climbed atop the statue, stretching out towards the hump she grinned back at them.<p>

"Watch and learn!" She giggled. Before tapping her wand against the hump and saying, "_dissendium!"_

Bonnie jumped off, as she waited for the statue to slide open. Nothing. She repeated the same steps, this time shouting the words louder as if the statue hadn't heard her the first time. People around began to look at them as if they had gone mental. William now took his shot, pulling out his own wand, he stood on the side of the statue merely touching the hump of the statue.

"_Dissendium!"_ They waited once again, but nothing occurred. 

"Maybe you aren't supposed to stand on the statue." suggested Drew. They began doubting whether the passage way was a real one, or if the twins from Ravenclaw were having them. Bonnie nodded

"Okay, William, lift me up." Bonnie jumped on William's back and stretched out her hand as the tip of her wand touched the very peak of Gunhilda's hump, she shouted again the same incantation as before, but to Alberto's displeasure, nothing happened. In frustration, Bonnie attempted to slam her fist against the statue, but missed, causing William to lose balance, and topple to the floor, his sister on top of him.

Irritated, Alberto sought out for some saving grace in these new companions.

"How about we try another one. Got anymore?" 

"There's a fireplace on the second floor. We could use that one… I'm sure it will work!" Bonnie said excitedly, as she sped off toward the grand staircase with William. The boys following behind them, as they left, Alberto looked behind to notice two other kids checking out the statue they had left behind.

There was a large foyer on the second floor of Hogwarts Castle. It was carpeted and had high ceilings, with four archways leading to other corridors. There were vases and display cases littered about. The room had large portcullises that could be lowered, sealing the room. The second floor foyer seemed to be another popular hangout spot for students

"Which way, Bonnie?" William asked, peering around quickly, his blonde hair whipping back and forth oddly.

Bonnie consulted her book before pointing to the left. Alberto noticed that to his right as an arcade of sorts. It seemed to serve as an antechamber to the third floor corridor. He noticed kids playing wizard chess next to small stair steps leading to a suit of armor which stood gleaming from the light shining off of it. There next to it was a girls' bathroom.

"Isn't that Moaning Myrtle's bathroom?" Asked Ali. William nodded in reply to his question. "Thought so. I read about her in Hogwarts: A History. Apparently she was a student who was killed here… She haunts that bathroom now. Ugh." Ali continued, shivering. Apparently scaring himself.

inside the next room, one could find several display cases, as well as a fireplace and a single portrait of a middle aged man with fancy green robes that reminded Alberto of the ones he had brought along for his first year here. The room had high ceilings and windows, as well as a trio of smaller stained-glass windows on the rear wall. To the group's right was a corridor that led towards the charms class room. Bonnie and William walked up towards the fireplace looking into it for a type of brick or lever that would open it.  
>They decided to look around for clues on how to open the passageway.<p>

"Do you guys know what you're doing…?" Drew finally asked skeptically.

"Sure, but er… we don't know how to open it." William admitted, as he stood up straight to face the group once again. It seemed their great adventure was more of a dud. Alberto left the current conversation to evaluate the empty fireplace, but nothing seemed out of place except for one of the cold brick, which seemed to be darker than the others and was chipped on a side. He turned back to his friends.

"Hey, there's something up with this brick. It's blacker and chipped on the side." Drew left the others to look at the strange brick, and contemplated the differences for a moment before attempting to yank the brick out with his hands.

"Nope. It's probably just piled up ash from a bunch of fires. No big deal." He concluded. Alberto leaned in to give the brick another yank, but it wasn't budging. William shrugged after squinting at it for a moment.

"If anything, it'd require a spell… but I can't work out which one would be appropriate."  
>Annoyed by their dismissal of his observations Alberto accepted defeat though the thought of the off color brick remained in the back of his head. He knew something was different about it.<p>

"Okay well that's also a bust… And dinner will be starting in thirty five minutes." Drew announced after looking up at the grandfather clock that towered over the room. William and Bonnie exchanged looks. Their knowledge had been bluntly denounced.  
>"It's like, totally not our fault!" Bonnie said shrilly.<p>

Drew glared at her.

"I never said it was, _Bonnie!_" Drew said sharply. "But you've wasted our time. You had us thinking you actually _knew _what you were doing." He added. Alberto nodded.

"I'm just wondering how these two even got into Ravenclaw." Tyler piped up. Drew and Alberto snorted, but Ali remained emotionless. Bonnie's face went beet red.

"How dare you insult us! You're an imbecile if you equate our bad luck with lack of intelligence." William spat, his teeth bared. Drew was unfazed by the logic used by the eleven year old.

"Your sister? She's an idiot. You two have been tripping all over each other for the last thirty minutes!" Drew retorted. Bonnie looked close to tears now, and for a moment, Alberto could see some sympathy wipe over Drew's face, before he regained his composure.

"Bonnie, I told you about those Gryffindors. Belligerent simpletons, all of them." William said as he gripped his sister's shoulder to comfort her. Drew stepped towards William, who in turn, flinched, though Drew had no intention of touching him.

"Keep Gryffindor house out of your filthy mouth." Drew said darkly, his voice shaking.

William turned his look towards Alberto.

"And you? Your house is well documented as the worst. The sorting hat puts the rubbish that doesn't fit in the other houses in Hufflepuff. And it took forever to even let you in there." Alberto felt the insult like a slap to his face. He glared.

"My house is not rubbish and nor am I! You bloody specky-"

"Name one famous Hufflepuff." William requested smugly. To this Alberto had no reply. He bit his lip, which left a smirk on William's face. Bonnie's tears seemed to have been reduced to mere sniffles. Ali stood beside Drew keeping his mouth shut, head lowered. Drew's arms were crossed over his chest, an unreadable expression on his face. Tyler seemed lost, shifting his eyes between William and Alberto.

"You know what he is, Bonnie?" William asked his sister attempting to cheer her up. He pointed at Drew, and Bonnie looked up, with a sniffle before reciting.

"A knave, a rascal, an eater of broken meats; a base, proud, shallow, beggarly, three-suited, hundred-pound, filthy worsted-stocking knave; a lily-livered, action-taking, whoreson, glass-gazing, super-serviceable, finical rogue; one-trunk-inheriting slave; one that wouldst be a bawd in way of good service, and art nothing but the composition of a knave, beggar, coward, pander, and the son and heir to a mongrel bitch: one whom I will beat into clamorous whining if thou deni'st the least syllable of thy addition!" She practically screamed at them, looking between Drew, Alberto and Tyler with each violent renaissance phrase. By the end of it all, Bonnie was grinning madly. William tilted his head to side, his smirk growing bigger as he saw the frown on Drew's face. 

"Was that too much for you lot?" William taunted. "It's William Shakespeare; he was a big famous writer man." William laughed as he amused himself.

Drew rolled his eyes.

"Ali, I don't know how you deal with this troll bait. But we're done here." William looked put out, but made no effort to move.

"What that means, Bill, is that you need to go back to the library or wherever the hell you people feel at home, before we have Tyler here make your glasses and your nose into one entity. Got it?" William didn't need to be told twice, as he and his sister jetted away, though not before throwing Ali a look of disgust. 

"I'm not sure I could do all that." Tyler said as he patted Drew on the back. "But I'm glad to be free!" Alberto turned to face Ali.

"This is your fault you know. You're such bloody nancy! You should have told them to bugger off in the first place! Maybe you wanted them to come around so that we could waste time and go outside like you wanted!" Ali rolled his eyes.

"Piss off, I wouldn't waste so much of an effort on you." Alberto grabbed his wand and flicked it towards Ali sending red sparks to him which pinched at him in the chest. Ali's face turned red, pulling out his own wand only to be stopped by Drew.

"Stop it, You guys couldn't do much damage even if you wanted to. Okay? Now, let's just go…" Drew stopped mid-sentence at the sight of another student. First year Slytherin, Wasim Kabu sat in the corner opposite of them, seemingly trying to read a book titled 'Quidditch through the Ages'.

"Who's this bloke?" He whispered, turning to his friends. Wasim lifted his head from the book he hid himself in, looking around a bit as if to be clueless. Drew didn't buy It, he gave Wasim a nasty look who in turn seemed to stare into Drew. The two had a stare down for a moment.

"That's Wasim." Alberto said. He shouted his name and called him over.

"Hey… saw you guys fighting those Ravenclaws."

"We didn't fight."

"Not what I saw but okay." Drew inspected him. He didn't seem to fancy Wasim by the looks he gave him. Alberto nodded.

"What's up?" "Oh, nothing. I should probably get going."  
>They nodded watching Wasim walk out of the room.<p>

"Well, Let's go off to the grounds then. We can explore the rest of the castle some other time. We've seen enough failures today. Shall we?" They all nodded in agreement but Alberto.

"I think I'm going to stay here a bit longer."

"Alright, mate. Catch us up."

Alberto stayed for a bit longer, analyzing the fireplace. He tried a number of different combinations of wand and hand, but he couldn't move the brick whatsoever. It was frustrating. He knew that this was the key, but he had no idea how to move it. He sat down and laid his head against the brick wall that surrounded the fireplace and soaked in the room. He could make out the sunset just outside of the one of the stain glassed windows. It was perfect.

"I'm going to solve you." He said aloud, looking towards the hearth . "I promise."

Finally opting to leave, Alberto took the long route towards the great hall. All the while, another set of footsteps quietly crept behind him.

Drew once again led the pack onto the grounds. Above the three boys, a swirling sky of pink and orange light slowly set for a good night's sleep. Ali's face was bright and eager, his eyes flickering to all the ecosystems that the Hogwarts grounds held.

"I want to see what we can see in the lake off of the dock! And then there's the forest. It'd be cool if we could catch something on the outskirts of the forest- can't go in, of course. I wonder if we'll see those bloody horses! Then there's the gardening scene…" Ali seemed to wind himself down, and eventually the boys decided to stop and look off of the dock and peer into the water. The mucky brown hue of the salty water left it difficult for the boys to spot anything much but seaweed and a few fish, but Ali seem satisfied. Heading to the forest was a pleasant walk as they stomped past a wooden hut and a few large oddly placed stones, but the problems on Drew's mind didn't allow him to enjoy it much of the scenery.

Drew had already made multiple rivals at Hogwarts, and it was indeed a possibility that he had more people who already despised him than he had friends. The near-tear look on Bonnie Kidd's face just a few minutes ago was something he was ashamed of. He thrashed the twins verbally, and maybe they truly were just trying to help? He was sure that the majority of Ravenclaw house would be against him by the next day.

The problem of his own house was enough to make him dread what would happen after dinner. Matthew Ray and Christopher Patil were his house mates, and at this point in time, they considered him a traitor if anything. His own cousin, Kelsi either had not taken notice of his attendance of Hogwarts, or was 'too cool' for him, either way, it made him feel alone. It was a feeling that three new friends weren't quite enough to negate.

"Yo, Drew! Look right there!" Tyler called from ahead of him. Drew hustled over to his friends and squinted into the woods where they were pointing. The boys stood a few feet away from the first line of trees, but the forest was so thick it was hard to spot anything other than the greenery.

"I don't see anything…" Drew muttered, still trying to catch a glimpse of whatever they were looking at.

"It's a silhouette of something." Ali said, the excitement in his voice barely under control. And then he saw it. A towering figure, it looked like a man, but… something was off.

An arrow whizzed past Drew's ear.

"RUN!" Drew shouted, as the three came to the realization of what had happened. Running as fast as they could into the near night, the boys felt the wind ripple by them as more arrows were sent after them. Sprinting into the school, the boys gasped as Tyler nearly collapsed into Alberto, who was just about to go onto the grounds to meet them.

"What? Are you lot done? But I wanted to do some 'splorin out there, too!" Alberto whined, ignoring the obvious condition of his friends.

"We….nearly…..just…." Ali began heaving in great gulps of air.

"Died." Tyler finished, after chugging a vile of something pink and wiping his lips on his robe sleeves. Drew, who was too tired to question what Tyler was drinking, turned to Ali.

"What was that?" He gasped. Ali shrugged, but Drew could tell by his old best friend's face that his brain was calculating what just happened.

"You guys have got to fill me in." Alberto pleaded.

"Later. I'm starvin'." Tyler said dreamily as he followed more bustling students into the great hall for dinner. Drew and Ali shook their heads before doing the same. Alberto groaned. He hated missing adventures.

The boys ate at their own house tables for dinner. Drew sat next to Tiffany Goyle, and other than her attempting to eat half of his plate, ("You're not going to finish that, are you?") He found her company fairly enjoyable. The two talked about the first day's courses, and homework, but Drew found it difficult to concentrate knowing that he was an inch from death less than an hour ago. Drew managed to catch Ali's eye and exchange a worried look just before dinner ended. On the way out of the hall, Drew saw Tyler and Alberto speaking heatedly. Drew assumed that Tyler was filling Alberto in.

The journey up to Gryffindor tower came easier than usual, and before long, Drew faced the portrait of the fat lady that guarded the entrance to Gryffindor tower.

"Password?" She asked silkily.

"Pork chops."

"Some would do you well, you skinny boy!" She remarked as she opened her portrait revealing the hole that lead into the Gryffindor common room.

Drew's eyelids were heavy, but when he tried to climb the stairs to his Dormitory, he was stopped by a burly sixth year.

"Jenkins is gonna make an announcement to you, firsties." He growled. Drew had no idea who Jenkins was, or what he wanted with him, but he too tired to argue. He went to sit in one of the big red chairs in front of the fireplace. After a while the rest of the house filed in, and one by one the first year boys were told to stay in the commons while the rest of the students were told to go to bed. A taller boy with long brown hair was now standing in front of the fire place, and finally having all the first years together he decided to begin his presentation.

"Hello, sub-human baby Gryffs, my name is Chuck Jenkins" He said to the room of first years, pinning a smile at the end of his words. Drew caught Matt Ray glaring at Jenkins out of the corner of his eye. "I'll be explaining a little tradition we've been doing here in Gryffindor house, for some years now, and you all, will listen… First year initiation." The dramatic pause was successful, as Drew noticed Emile McGinnis gasp.

"All first year boys will be required to go and feed the Giant Squid that resides in the black lake before the semester ends. Simple enough task for a Gryffindor, and once done, you will officially be one of us." Jenkins said this simply, though Drew's heart beat was gradually getting faster. Feed a giant squid? What? "It's a simple task. Dorm 'A' will leave the tower at ten on Friday night, and by Saturday morning, those five boys _will _be Gryffindors. Questions?" After a long pause, hands went up.

"Isn't it against school rules to leave the common room after nine o'clock?" asked a boy from dorm B.

"Any questions that aren't based on the fact that you're all complete Nancy's?" Jenkins asked, ignoring the boy's question. All hands went down. "To bed with all of you. Good luck!" A mischievous smile flickered across Jenkins' face, as he watched the first years march gloomily to bed. In a corner, Drew noticed his cousin Kelsi chatting up the large sixth year boy who was blocking the path to the dormitories. Drew let out a sigh and went to bed. While passing the girl's dormitories, Drew thought he heard the unmistakable sound of sobbing. The doors were, of course, locked, and dealing with a crying girl was a bag of worms that Drew didn't care to open at the moment.

Once in bed, Drew's brain seemed to try and process everything that had happened in his first day at Hogwarts, but his body gave in before much of anything made sense. Tomorrow would be a big day. He drifted away quickly to the silence of the castle. Unbeknownst to him, some floors down, a couple of friends of his were wide awake, prowling the corridors.


	8. Social Frenzy

**CHAPTER EIGHT: SOCIAL FRENZY  
><strong>

Drew awoke calmly that morning. A beam of sun painted his four poster bed, and after looking at his watch, he realized that he was awake unusually early.

The Tuesday schedule was three more classes, and Drew figured more likely than not, they would be composed of standard first day introductions. He would finally be able to meet his head of house, Professor Longbottom, in Herbology, as well as Hufflepuff's and Ravenclaw's heads in Transfiguration and Charms respectively.

Finally lifting his head, he attempted to muffle the patter of his socks against the floor as he crept into the bathroom to flatten his curly hair, and splash some water on his golden brown face. Upon exit, he was met by Emile McGinnis and Miles Galloway, who were changing into their robes. In hushed whispers, the three decided to go down to breakfast before the other two first year boys awoke. Drew changed into his shirt and jeans and tossed his black robe over his shoulder hurriedly as he followed the other two Gryffindors out into the common room.

"So I'll just say it. Come Friday night, we're buggered." Drew said, after catching up to his dorm mates on the stairs. The two other boys nodded solemnly.

"It's right mad, isn't it?" Emile said, his voice grave, "No telling how many first years have been expelled on initiation night for sneaking out!" He finished as he wiped his red hair out of his face.

"Erm… Emile, I think we oughtta be more worried about being mauled by the giant squid." Replied Miles, his unusual hazel eyes flickering. Emile opened his mouth to reply, but before he could say anything, his right leg fell through the faulty step halfway down the stairs. Drew's eyes popped as he avoided following in his footsteps, but Miles simply sighed. Drew watched as the black boy yanked his friend back onto solid ground.

"How many times do you need to fall before you start counting steps, ya flippin' Mud?" Drew was taken aback at the boy's phraseology.

"Er… what'd you call him?" He asked, halfway expecting a joke.

"Mud. As in, Mudblood, I reckon." Miles said, contorting his face as if he hadn't ever thought about the word's origin before. Drew frowned at the derogatory term.

"It's okay, Drew. Me and Miles are both muggle borns. We can call each other that, _you _can't say it though." Emile stated as he regained his composure. Drew had never heard the word used in this context and squinted skeptically.

"I'm half, you know. My dad's an er- 'Mud'." Drew offered, as the three Gryffindors continued down towards the great hall. Emile contemplated this for a moment, before shrugging.

"Well, I spose you're okay, then." He said finally as they reached the third floor landing and waited upon another slowly gliding staircase. Drew wasn't sure what to think about this, but was fairly confident that he wouldn't be calling anybody 'Mud' anytime soon.

The boys eventually reached the entrance hall to find it more empty than usual due to the earliness of their arrival. Drew scanned the area for his friends, and surprisingly found Alberto sitting in a corner surrounded by chattering Hufflepuffs. Wondering what was up, he departed from his house mates and made his way across the hall, only to be stopped midway.

"Well, what have we got here!" bellowed the voice of an older boy. Hands spun Drew around to face the owner of said voice, an Asian boy with horn rimmed glasses and a beret.

"You look like you could use an update, little Gryffindor!" Drew took notice of the boy's robes. Closed chested, like those Alberto wore, but with a Slytherin crest sewn on the left of his chest. Drew's eyebrows were raised in shock as he watched the boy slide about a foot away to yank open a nearby broom closet. Instead of the usual brooms and pails, the small closet was filled with a stack of newspapers. The boy grabbed a paper off of the top of the stack and tossed it to Drew, who caught it lethargically.

"That, my old school friend, is the Hoggy Gazette, our school paper. Written and produced by moi." The boy advertised. Drew looked down at the paper and began to read the headlining article.

_Has hating first years become too mainstream? _

_The sacred tradition of hating the new kids has been a part of Hogwart's student life for many generations, but is it past its prime? Our featured student of the week thinks so. _

"_I think taking down Peeves is a good example of what first years bring to the table, sure, we're young and small, but we take pride in this school just as much as older students do. I want to see a clean Hogwarts, and I'm glad I managed to help the cause." says Alberto Pizzaro, eleven year Old Hufflepuff. On his first night here, Alberto executed a daring rescue of his friends Tyler Hall (S) and Wasim Kabu (S), spooking Peeves the poltergeist into apparent hiding. The ghostly heckler hasn't been seen since the first night of term, something very unusual for Peeves. _

_Whether or not Peeves has been exterminated has yet to be seen, but the job done by Alberto Pizzaro was definitely a good one, showing what first years can bring to the table. _

Drew stopped reading and smirked at the exaggerated narration of the article. He looked below the article and looked at the student bio of his friend. A moving photo of Alberto peered out of the paper and waved to Drew in the process.

_Alberto Pizzaro enjoys exploring and going on adventures with his sidekicks Drew Henry, Tyler Harper, and Ali Acra. He wants to work in Gamble and Japes or Weasley's Wizard Wheezes when he grows up, and says, "Go Hufflepuff!" _

Sidekick? Drew frowned, but skimmed the rest of the paper which included house cup totals, quidditch roster updates and course tips.

"Yo, afro man! No freebees. I'm starting to like your style, but… You can't be a real champ until you've bought your own copy!" spouted the Asian boy. Drew tossed the paper back to him before stomping off toward Alberto. Alberto didn't seem to notice as he continued to wave his arms enthusiastically as he talked to the posse of students that circled him.

"Well, I couldn't let the poltergeist kill him, could I? I ran towards him, (he had a sword, you know,) and I grabbed it and tossed him through the bloody wall! Muggle style!" Alberto said, smirking coolly. Everyone around him gasped and looked impressed. Drew noticed that one of these people was the blue eyed girl, and it made his face instantly hot with fury.

"That's a load of bullocks, and you know it." Drew said over the chit-chat of the group. A few people looked back at Drew questioningly, but he didn't care. "What is this, mate?" Drew probed, gesturing to the newspapers that the most of the crowd was holding. Alberto's face fell as he saw Drew. He then jumped out of his seat and made his way through the fans toward the curly headed Gryffindor. Alberto led Drew away from the crowd and began to whisper quickly.

"I was interviewed last night after dinner. Apparently loads of people heard about the whole Peeves thing! I'm like, some kind of celebrity!" Alberto's voice was excited.

"I read the article. It's making you out as some kind of hero. And we're your _sidekicks_?" Drew asked.

"Look… that was just the way the blokes wrote it. I'm just er… not exactly correcting them. And so what if I embellish the story a tad? Check out all of those birds over there! There's a babe for me, you, Ali and Tyler if we play our cards right!" Drew looked over his shoulder to the blue eyed girl who was holding a conversation with a fellow Hufflepuff. He swallowed before replying.

"I'm not your sidekick."

"Course not, mate."

The rest of the morning went like clockwork. It wasn't until Transfiguration class when Drew was brought back into the events of the day before. He sat in the back of the class, alone, getting his supplies set up on his desk for Professor Hunnicutt's lesson. The seat next to him was pulled out, and Ali Acra took his chair.

"I've figured it out." Ali said casually as he too, pulled out his text books. Drew looked at him enquiringly and he explained. "Yesterday in the forest. You know how we were nearly murdered?" Drew rolled his eyes and nodded. "Centaurs. Half horse and half man creatures, notoriously aggressive. The forbidden forest has hosted a colony for as far back as the library's archives go. This explains the herd of horses I saw back on the train, too." Drew furrowed his brow, unsurprised by Ali's acquisition of information over the last day.

"But why did they try to fill us with arrows? Seems like that'd be a bit dangerous to allow literally right outside of the school." he asked. Ali shrugged.

"Apparently they're not on great terms with the school, not much interaction- other than Professor Firenze. He was a Centaur that taught divinations here from 1996 to 1998." Ali recited robotically.

"Well now that we know, what do we do? I doubt anybody else knows about them opening fire on us." Drew supposed. Ali said nothing. His studies couldn't give him this information.

"I reckon we should tell the Headmistress. Maybe she can contact this Firenze fellow and get him to call of their archers." He said finally, with a worried sigh.

The rest of the class seemed to be fast forwarded, the thought of Centaurs never leaving Drew's mind. The two boys decided that they'd alert Professor McGonagall at the end of the day, giving Tyler a chance to tag along.

Now on their third day of Hogwarts, the maze that was the castle was no easier navigable to any of the boys but Alberto, who apparently had gathered some extra experience. Drew was the first to notice this, as the two had Charms together that day.

Loud snoring could be heard from the desk next to Drew as Alberto rested his head upon his arms, trying to take a power nap.

"Ah, can someone please wake up Mr. Pizzaro?" Flitwick squeaked from the front of the class after checking his class roster for Alberto's name. Drew nudged his friend who woke up with a snort and squinted towards the front.

"That'll be 3 points from Hufflepuff, Mr. Pizzaro." Flitwick said. A groan came from the students wearing canary yellow badges. "You don't get to exercise magic in this class _until _the proper knowledge has been taken from the lectures I give!" He squeaked again before turning back to his lecture at hand on levitation. Drew leaned over to whisper to Alberto.

"Probably wouldn't be passing out in class if you didn't stay up to give that interview last night." He said, still obviously peeved. Alberto's face looked strained, as if wondering whether or not to tell Drew something.

"Er… well, I didn't exactly go to bed after that." He muttered. Drew looked back curiously, noticing the black bags under Alberto's eyes. "I went back to check out that fireplace on the second floor again last night." Drew managed to keep the concern for his friend's sleeping habits off of his face,

"If you get caught out of bed, you'll be in it deep. You do know that?" He stated coldly. Alberto rolled his eyes.

"Of course I know, Drew. That's half the fun. But… I've made no progress on the fireplace, anyway. It's got something to do with that brick, I know it!" Alberto rambled, just a bit too loudly (he was shushed by the students in front of him). Drew looked disapproving, and simply shrugged as he turned back to his notes.

As the day reached its conclusion, Drew journeyed up the stairs to the entrance hall from his potions class. He met up with Ali and Tyler, and the three wandered down the unexplored hallway to the left of the entry stairs, where an older student told them the headmistress' office was located. The boys reached a stone Gargoyle that guarded a granite staircase at the end of the hall.

"Er… what do we do?" asked Drew, confused. Ali simply pushed his glasses up his nose, digesting the situation. Surprisingly, Tyler stepped towards the Gargoyle.

"Hey, er- we need to talk to the Headmistress." said the tall Slytherin boy abruptly. Drew and Ali looked at him wildly, but to their shock, the Gargoyle sprang to life.

"Have you got the password, lanky?" It asked stonily. Tyler shrugged and looked back to Drew who was still in shock that the statue moved.

"No, we don't. But see, this is important. We were attacked." Drew explained. The eye carvings on the creature looked like they shifted back and forth between the three boys before coming to a decision.

"Just wait here." It grunted, as it turned around and climbed the granite steps itself.

"How did you know it'd come to life?" Ali asked Tyler amazedly.

"Dunno. Everything around here seems to talk and move, doesn't it?" The muggle born boy replied logically, his face turning pink with modesty. A knock could be heard above and before long the Gargoyle came back down, stepping aside and gesturing the boys in. Ali pushed the slightly ajar door open, and the trio walked in, shy Tyler taking up the rear.

Professor McGonagall looked stern over her spectacles. Her hair was in a tight bun, but her office, seemed to be in disarray.

"Henry, Acra, and Harper, correct?" She asked. The three boys nodded. "Well?"

"Yesterday, just outside of the forest, not _in _the forest, mind you-" Drew reminded quickly, remembering that he was in the headmistress' office. "We noticed something funny looking out at us. We could only make out the outlines, but Ali reckons they were Centaurs. Anyway, they opened fire on us with bow and arrows." Drew finished. Tyler and Ali nodded as witnesses.

"And none of you were hurt?"

"No, Professor."

McGonagall stared at them for a moment, and a flash of worry passed over her face. It was replaced with calm nearly immediately. She stood up from her desk and whipped out her wand. She flicked it, and out came the silvery form of a Tabby cat.

"Firenze, you are needed in the headmistress' office. It is urgent." She said to the cat, and a second later, the feline leapt through the unopened window behind McGonagall's desk. Ali smirked.

"Knew she'd tell Firenze." He whispered to Drew. McGonagall's ears must have been exceptionally good, as she heard him.

"Ah, a Ravenclaw who spends time at the library. How… refreshing." She remarked dryly. Drew and Tyler giggled. McGonagall's eyes turned to Drew. "You make sure to keep up with him in your marks, boy. I don't like to hear about my old house being full of morons." Her eyes twinkled, and Drew beamed at the old woman.

"Sure thing!"

"And you. Do try to be nice, won't you?" She turned to the brown headed Slytherin. Tyler blushed and agreed.

Minutes later, the familiar sound of horse hooves echoed below, and a towering Centaur was soon entering McGonagall's messy office. The shirtless, blonde creature looked at McGonagall questioningly, his blue eyes piercing, and intimidating. She began to recap Drew, Ali, and Tyler's story.

"That is, indeed curious. Though I haven't any understanding as to why it would ever occur. I've been away from the herd just until today." Firenze explained after McGonagall's story. McGonagall frowned, and now she seemed legitimately concerned.

"Well I had hoped it was simply some of your colts, messing about… but, Firenze, you understand that I can't have Centaurs shooting at my students when they are on Hogwarts grounds?" Firenze nodded curtly.

"One wonders if this has anything to do with Jupiter…" He said dazedly. Drew frowned. What did Jupiter have to do with the attempted murder?

"Whatever it is, Firenze. I hope that it can be handled." McGonagall said after a few silent beats.

"Tonight I have a prearranged visit with Rubeus Hagrid; I am assisting with the keep of a few of his newly acquired horses, but tomorrow I shall visit with our herd leader, of course."

McGonagall looked frustrated.

"Does the potential of a student's death not overrule a farm visit?" She asked sharply. Drew feared that the Centaur would respond aggressively, but his expression was serene.

"I have seen no death in the stars."

McGonagall pursed her lips but didn't pursue further. She looked back to the three boys only to see blank expressions on Drew and Ali, with Tyler performing a nervous jitter that was dismissed.

"Well I'm glad you're back in the area. Did you enjoy your trip to Transylvania?" She asked.

From that point on, the conversation turned to small talk that Drew didn't care for. What was this about the stars? And why wasn't McGonagall questioning it? Drew decided he'd ask Ali about it later.

After a while, the boys were told that they were free to go, and that they should stay off of the grounds for the next few days. Reaching the entrance hall, the three split ways. Tyler took the spiraling stairs down to the dungeons, while Ali went up to the third floor, where the library was located. Drew figured he'd head up to the common room, as he had Charms and Transfiguration homework due tomorrow.

As he walked towards the stairs, he noticed that the Entrance Hall's notice board had been updated. He walked over to see what was new.

_Dueling Club, 4/9/07_

_The first practice of the Hogwarts Dueling Club will be held this Wednesday. All years are welcome to the club. Bring your wand and prepare to learn, spar and have fun! First year students who participate in Dueling Club are invited to take Dueling as an elective in their second year. So come along and learn how to DUEL. _

Drew finished reading the text and smiled. This is what he was waiting for. He grew up around dueling. His father was an expert teacher for a long while, and Drew had been to many matches. He'd be able to learn spells that were not taught in normal first year curriculum too. Butterflies filled his stomach as he took a club flier. He'd have to be good.


	9. The Guiding Light

**CHAPTER NINE: THE GUIDING LIGHT**

The next day of school was academic business as usual. To Drew and Alberto's surprise, professor Lynwood had prepared an unusual Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. The boys candle lit room, that would otherwise be pitch black.

"Next to each candle are instructions on how to produce the Lumos charm. Your notes and preparation of mental and wand movement technique should have prepared you for this- Once you light your wand tip, you will receive an 'A' for the day. First student who successfully casts the spell also gets 15 points awarded to their house! Have fun!" Lynwood chuckled merrily, and for once, his pupils were enjoying his class.

Drew and Alberto joined the rushing first years to a candle and read the wand instructions on how to produce the illuminating charm. After a few minutes, Tiffany Turner had a pulsating glowing orb at the end of her wand and Gryffindor received the promised house points. By the end of the period, both Drew and Alberto were able to light their wand tips (though Alberto's often sputtered and smoked like an old car before he could get it lit).

As the day had finished Alberto strolled through the castle giving his greetings to students who seemed to bathe in his presence before heading over to dinner. His mind raced with ideas of what was to come of tonight. _No more running into bloody suits of armor for me._ He thought contently, now that he held light on the tip of his wand he had nothing to worry about. As he entered the dinner table he decided for a change to sit over with the Gryffindors. He looked around to notice Drew sitting with his fellow scarlet clad mates.

He pranced over, sitting down next to Drew, leaning over to get a fried drumstick.

"Guess what!" the excitement could be heard in his voice, his eyes bearing into Drew's with a grin on his face. The students at the table looked at the boy, annoyed by his presence at the table. Matthew Ray opened his mouth to speak everyone's mind.

"Oi, what're you doing here? Can't you see this is the Gryffindor table?" Alberto rolled his eyes, ignoring his complaint.

Matt arched his eyebrow. "Listen here, you pure, I don't care how posh you think you are just 'cause you're in the school paper with your bloomin' closed chest robes on, but there aint no badgers welcomed here." Albert lowered his head taking a look at his attire. Drew sighed grabbing him as they walked over to the Hufflepuff table where he was greeted by all the students with a warm welcome, as they sat, whispers could be heard by the students who glanced over at Alberto.

"So, I'm guessing you're gonna be using Lumos to help your rule breaking tonight?" Drew said with a sigh. Alberto grinned, nodding to his assumption.

"Well I say you catch some sleep. It'd do you good. The bags under your eyes have bags under them, mate. Not looking healthy at all." Alberto shrugged.

"I'll go to the hospital wing later. Maybe I can score some of that Wiggenweld potion that Tyler got."

The rest of the conversation was about how their day had been. They joked at the things that happened throughout the day, as they enjoyed just about everything there was on the table from pork chop to drumsticks and ribs.

Ali had sat at his own table where Alberto caught a glimpse of his sister, Nataly for the first time since their arrival to platform nine and three quarters. Chatting with Ali was the boy with dreadlocks, who, Alberto noticed wore a Gryffindor badge on his robes.

"Guess the Ravenclaw's are more house friendly than Gryffindor is." He pointed out. Showing Drew his sister and her friend. Drew merely gave a unconcerned shrug before returning to his food. After finishing he stood.

"Well I'll see you, got to meet Ali in the library in a bit-" Drew started.

"Hey Alberto, would you mind walking us back to the common room?"

Alberto turned to see that it was none other than Brooke Mars, Drew's obvious crush, and two of her friends looking over her shoulder waiting for a response.

"Er… sure." He was pleasantly surprised by the offer. Drew shot Alberto a mild glare before walking out to the entrance hall.

The whole way back the girls seemed as if they had taken a dosage of love potion. In the common room, Alberto managed to sneak his way by them and into his dormitory where he laid down on his bed. He took in a deep breath, looking through the large round window on the ceiling. The sun had just set, and the sky had turned a damp blue. _Should I sneak out…?_

He remembered what the boy at the Gryffindor table had said about his clothes. He jumped up and crouched over to look inside his chest to find the two shirts and a pair of pants that his friend Danny had given him. He looked around to make sure no one was in the dormitory. He then proceeded to slide off his robe and put on the pants before looking at his two options for a shirt. He chose the plaid shirt that was in his house colors, and pulled it on. He expected them to be more comfortable than his closed-chest robe, but to his own disappointment, his body didn't feel nearly as free.

His cheeks went hot in anticipation as he trotted into the common room in his most casual manner. Danny was the first to take notice, along with the others.

"About time you put them on! They're a bit worn out, but you may just start a new trend, Mr. Gazette!" Danny shot him thumbs up before exiting the common room himself. Alberto assumed that he was off to the dueling club. Girls began showering him with questions of his daring night with Peeves, boys asking if they could ever tag along on an adventure.

"Are you going out tonight?" asked a second year girl in awe. He nodded.

"Should be leaving now, in fact. But don't tell anyone!" He said with a wink. He knew that Hufflepuff's fierce loyalty practically insured his secrets to be protected. He looked at the clock that stood at the back wall. It was still rather early, but with his new spell he'd have a lot to do. One of the other girls hugged him.

"Stay safe tonight, Alby!"

_This. Is. Bloody. Amazing!_ Was what he screamed in his head, but he remained cool. "My name's Autumn." She announced boldly. Alberto knew that this girl was a third year, and he could only just keep himself from grinning.

"You should take me around the castle this weekend! Okay?" The girl's courage finally faded in response to his silence. Her cheeks turned red before she spun around and shrouded her face. Alberto jumped off the couch as he tried to walk out of the common room as quickly as possible.

Once the barrel closed behind him he ran out into the entrance hall with a silly smile on his face, his body pumping with adrenaline and excitement, he couldn't help but bounce up and down through the hall (as quietly as possible, of course.) He had a feeling it would be a good night. He walked up the stairs, casting a smoky _lumos_ as he headed into the Great Hall. Suddenly, the hairs on Alberto's neck stood on end and he felt as if he were being watched. He quickly spun around, throwing his light into the shadows, but the hall was absent of all movement other than the floating candles hovering above his head and the whispering portraits that lined the walls. Alberto shook off his paranoia, and silently skipped up the grand staircase, each separate stairway changing perfectly in time with Alberto's hops. He pulled open the door on the second floor and ambled into the second floor foyer.

It was abandoned like most nights. The difference was drastic, in the mornings and mid-day it was be packed with loads of students, but Alberto knew most were either at the dueling club where Drew and Ali were, or in their commons by this time. Tonight was ripe for the picking. He walked left where a shining suit of armor. He walked around looking at the floors, walls, and ceiling, soaking in the atmosphere, as now along with the sliver of moonbeam that often guided him; he now had a personal light at his disposal which he could shine into every corner. To the far right of the room was a staircase which led to the third floor.

He sighed. The room bore him a bit, but he decided before leaving he'd inspect the suit of armor. He walked towards it and swung his wand at it.

"Do you fear death, you roguish scallywag?" He barked in a mock-deep voice. He pretended he had just cornered the Knight, and was about to finish him off in a duel. "Speak your last words, foolish cavalier!" he spat. He finally let loose a giggle of childhood enjoyment before taking notice of the slightly discolored floor panel behind the statue. He hadn't taken notice before, but now equipped with the _lumos_ charm, it was clear to him.

"Wow!" he whispered giddily. Alberto directed the light on the floor, then gingerly stepped on one of the floor tiles, which in turn made the floor begin to shift, revealing a flight of stairs which led to what seemed to be a storage room. He took the stone steps down, and looked around. He aimed his wand towards the ceiling in gazed up in awe. The ceiling was in the shape of six domes, each broken down by three pillars. Two connected to the wall and one down the middle. His attention was then caught by a creature in front of him groaning. He kneeled on one knee to take a better look at it.

It was a common garden gnome. In height, it reached up to Alberto's shin, and was brown in color with a disproportionately large head, which made it look like potato with legs. Alberto watched it stare at him with wide eyes that dilated from the light shining. He poked its foot softly, which made it topple back. The small creature's foot was hard and bony. "We've got a bunch of your lot back at my dad's place." He spoke to it, recalling a few fond memories of degnoming with his family.

It didn't respond, rather it ran around one of the pillars for fun. Alberto chuckled and decided that perhaps he was intruding on the gnome's play space. He wanted to continue on his nightly journey to examine the brick in the fireplace. He climbed out of the secret storage, which closed by itself behind him as he walked to the main entrance and to the room to its right. The maniacal smile he had on his face from looking over the fireplace vanished the second he heard the murmurs of an adult, just outside the room he resided in. He turned around looking at the entrance backing up towards the fireplace.

Alberto spooked himself; he reached back against the fireplace in fright. His wand hand felt an odd vibration as the tip of the Hazel wood touched the brick, which fell onto his hand. He jumped, the brick had fallen off. He had done what he had hoped to accomplish the first day of his venturing, figure out the secret behind the fire place. He took a step back as the bricks on the wall began to shift, (like those he saw at Diagon Alley) opening a small narrow passage. All that needed to be done was shine light in between the cracks. It was as if it broke the barrier that blocked

Looking around he quickly crawled into the passage and watched the wall of bricks materialize again in front of him with nothing but one small rectangular gap where the brick he held in his hand went. He slipped the brick that he had in his hand into the gap, taking one last look; he noticed two bodies appear in front of where he stood. It was Filch and Wasim Kabu. As the brick stood in place, he was now in complete darkness.

"That filthy little rat!" he grinded his teeth together in anguish. One of his own friends had betrayed him after rescuing him. "Wait until I've got my wand near you, kid." he muttered under his breath. He casted lumos once more and began to shine the light around the passage. It was a narrow hallway which led into a big circular chamber. The chamber then broke off into four other narrow corridors. In the dead center of the passage way was a rectangular trap door. He kneeled down and placed his head against the trap door.

He heard the trotting of footsteps from creatures and simply decided that wasn't a passage he would want to explore at this time of night. He pointed his wand at the tunnel to the far right and walked into it. After wandering within, the ground became a flight of stairs with a small square window near the top. Alberto yawned quietly to himself as he walked the stairs to the top where he peered out the window.

He noticed the crescent moon in the sky which glimmered against the glass. He smiled as he leaned his head against the cold stone. It was the first time he had managed to gaze off into the night grounds. He began to sort of envy at the fact that his friends managed to explore the grounds without him, and after an announcement from McGonagall earlier in the day, he wouldn't have a chance to any time soon. He couldn't wait to tell his friends of this night and this place. He had let the fame take over him, though he enjoyed it, he knew that those people who flocked to him didn't honestly care about him. He knew that his friends were those who kept him company the night on the train he spent covered in pumpkin ooze. He took notice of the wall to his right it seemed like a dead end until he the light against the wall, which showed that the brick on the far right had let the green outline that the fireplace had before. It was a passage way to one of the other rooms in the castle, and if his guess was any good, so were the rest of the hallways that surrounded him.

He walked back to the main chamber and headed down the tunnel to the mid-right. This one also led up a flight of stairs, at the end, if one would look up at the ceiling, they could see light shining down through a small maze- where dead center lay a bright star, probably one of the brightest of the night. Thinking of what Tyler said, he laughed at the thought of it being Jupiter.

He explored the last two on the left, both of which led underground, one of them having a pair of stairs which coiled like a snake. A granite Gargoyle standing at the end of it. The edges of the wall had been what let light shine through. The other end simply had a statue of a Badger. Shining lumos on it revealed that light would shine up from the floor on which the badger stood on. By this time Alberto was barely managing to keep his eyes open.

Too lazy to walk back to his common room, he laid down on the floor in the chamber. Afraid of being alone in the massive light-stripping room, he kept his wand lit until he was too dozed off to concentrate. He fell asleep. Throughout the night the castle walls kept him warm. Nothing could be heard but the softly taken breaths from Alberto's mouth as he slept through the night only waking up once or twice to realize that dawn still wasn't as near as he'd like.

After dinner that day, Drew and Ali met up in the library to prepare for the dueling club meeting that was happening that night.

"So this is where you spend all of your time." Drew said, looking around at the hundreds of bookshelves. There were multiple levels to the library, and one could only reach the books on the highest shelves by way of ladder. The room was impressive, to say the least. Ali nodded in reply, his eyes traveling from line to line in the book he was currently devouring. Suddenly, the book began to flap open and closed like wings, and flew like a bird to the center of the library where a desk was located.

"I wasn't done with that!" Ali whined as he reached out for the book. But it had just reached the librarian, Madam Pince's hands, and she shook her head fiercely.

"This is overdue, Mr. Acra! You checked it out at exactly this time, a week ago."

"But-"

"Shh!"

The two boys left Ali's second home and took off down the stairs to the great hall, where the dinner tables had been pushed into a sort of square bordering, leaving the middle of the room bare, except for the huddles of students who stood chatting loudly.

Drew rubbed his neck nervously and looked to Ali. Neither Alberto nor Tyler showed any interest in dueling club, and Drew couldn't pick out many people he knew, as most of the population was older students. Drew recognized Danny, the second year Hufflepuff that Alberto introduced him to, as well as Andy Harvey a third year Gryffindor he'd talked to once. Drew didn't feel that he'd be particularly comfortable striking up a conversation with either of these boys. Then, out of the corner of Drew's eye, he saw a blur of blonde hair streak by, a sight which was followed by a waft flowery fragrance. Drew's insides tingled. It was her. He turned to Ali and opened his mouth, to suggest they go wherever the blue eyed girl went, but Ali spoke over him.

"Oh, hey! Look the twins are here!" Ali grabbed the sleeve of Drew's robe and pulled him over to the area occupied by the meek looking Ravenclaw twins- William and Bonnie Kidd. The two were aghast as they caught sight of Drew. "Hey-o, Bill. Hey-o, Bon!" Ali chimed. Drew's head dropped as he sighed.

"I'll go." He offered after feeling the angry silence around him. Ali looked confused in his obliviousness, but Drew waved him away as he left the gaggle of Ravenclaws.

Lucky for Drew, he didn't have to wander aimlessly by himself for very long, as the room's attention was commanded by a deep voice standing on a table in the back of the hall. A black man with an afro (that was quite clean looking compared to Drew's curly mop), wearing billowing white robes and matching tie began to speak.

"Hello there, students. My name is Dean Thomas, and I-" -He leapt down from the table top- "Am your duel instructor." Thomas gave a warm grin to the students, and the lesson was on the way.

The man was a real charmer, and explained that he was the coach of the dueling team at Hogwarts, and also directed the club that was held once a week. Many of the older students who were obviously a part of the team, seemed to be fond of him, cracking inside jokes, and affectionately referring to him as simply Dean. The first years were told to split up into pairs and practice a simple knock back jinx, _Flipendo _which Dean explained how to do verbally. Drew and Ali took turns knocking each other into the pillows that were laid behind them for safety measurements.

Drew continued to steal glances at the blue eyed girl throughout the thirty minute session, and by the end, he was angry at himself for not having spoken to her by this point in the year. On the last sparring match of the day, Drew and the blue eyed girl were conveniently knocked back onto their pillows by their partners at the same time, and Drew seized his chance, turning on his side to face her.

"These pillows really do make getting knocked on your arse feel lovely, don't they?" Drew said. The girl giggled and turned red.

"I guess my sister was right about how raunchy Gryffindor boys are." She said, still giggling at his wording. She looked at her brown haired friend who smiled sheepishly as the two got up.

"Arse is raunchy? I didn't know, ma'am. Us Gryffindors are supposed to be idiots, too, you know." Drew said, smirking.

"Oh, please don't think I believe everything I hear- It was only a joke!" The blue eyed girl said, afraid that she had offended him. Drew grinned.

"I'm Drew Henry." He said, stretching out his hand. The girl shook it daintily.

"Brooke Mars." Drew's eyebrows rose.

"So, is it true that Hufflepuff girls are the ditsiest of the lot?" He asked. The girl turned red and rolled her eyes.

Before the conversation could continue, Dean Thomas announced that the students needed to put away their pillows and call it a night. Drew and Ali did so quickly, and turned to exit the great hall. Making sure to wave to the Hufflepuff girl, Brooke, Drew left feeling confident. His heart fluttered, everything had gone great. He learned a new spell, (one that he was pleased to have based on the looks that the Kidd twins gave him), and he managed a conversation with the blue eyed girl.

Drew still had a smile on his face when he reached Gryffindor tower by himself that night. But once inside, it would vanish. Sitting near the window, in one of the comfy red chairs that the common room housed, was a lone girl, sobbing. Tiffany Goyle's sandy hair could be seen atop a blanket as she attempted to stifle her bawling. So it was Tiffany who was crying in her dormitory Monday night, that Drew had overheard. Drew, feeling like he was worth a million galleons, decided the right thing to do was comfort his friend. Sitting down on a chair next to her, he spoke up in a soothing voice.

"Hey Tiffany? It's Drew." Her blanket was lowered slightly to reveal bloodshot eyes, as she looked at him.

"I expect you want me to find somewhere else to go with my problems?" She cried. Drew shook his head.

"No… I mean, we're mates, right? I'm er… here, In case you need to talk." Drew didn't expect the rapidness of what came next,

"I was kicked out of my dorm! Kearsley Coats told me to shove it… It's my parents! I just… why aren't I good enough for them?" Drew was puzzled.

"Er… what happened with your parents?" He asked, wondering if it was the wrong choice to try and help Tiffany.

"I was sorted into bloody Gryffindor!" She said. "I didn't ask for it… my parents were both Slytherins and… well, maybe I don't want to be a backstabbing, conniving, twofaced, cheating, evil, murderous…"

She started to sob once again.

"Well, Tiffany… If I er- understand correctly, you're parents are just a bit shocked. And you should just kind of weather the storm. If it helps, my dad was a Slytherin, and here I am." Tiffany snorted.

"Who asked you anyway, Henry!" She struck out. Drew felt a combination of hurt and confusion.

"I er…"

"Who cares what my parents think? I don't need them. I'm the best bloomin' student at Hogwarts. And whatever house and whatever _family_ that is lucky enough to have me should feel blessed!" She raged defiantly. Drew nodded hesitantly at his friend's sudden change in mood.

"Er… yeah!" He stammered looking for something more to say.

"Thanks Drew. You really helped." She said sincerely, as she got up and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to take my dormitory back from Kearsley Coats." And with that she stormed off, leaving Drew's mind exhausted. He hoped that Brooke Mars was a different breed of girl than Tiffany Goyle was. He followed in her footsteps, and headed to his own dormitory for the night.

As drew undressed, he heard a stir from Matthew Ray's bed and froze.

"Oi, you better not screw us up Friday, Henry." Came Ray's groggy voice. Drew wondered whether or not he was sleep talking, but nodded either way. He then got into bed and went to sleep.

Thursday came and Alberto needed great will just to open his eyes to meet the morning sun. His body felt like it weighed two times what it did, and his legs felt like lead as he crawled out the brick entrance. Today, he didn't meet his Hufflepuff admirers with celebrity like grins, his brain told him that simple grunts would suffice, had he encountered anyone on the way.

Lucky for him, he only had one class to travel to that day- double block potions with the Slytherins. And once, filled up on house elf made breakfast, he stomped down to the dungeons.

Alberto noticed something peculiar as he entered the classroom, it was the absence of Wasim Kabu who sat behind him on most days. Alberto shook his head, decidedly not giving a care to the situation. Once he met Tyler at their desk, he was taken aback by his friend's shaky nature.

"What's wrong, Ty?" He asked gravelly as he took his seat.

"I'm bloody fine, shut up!" Tyler growled back. Alberto frowned. This was very unlike the shy boy he'd met on the train. Alberto was about to dive further into Tyler's odd behavior, when he was distracted by a loud scoff by the ever-rude Gianni Neal.

"Ever occurred to you that maybe he just doesn't want to speak to a bloody Hufflepuff-ball?" She asked, not even looking in Alberto's direction, but instead reading a copy of what looked like the Hoggy Gazette.

"Why don't you shove it up your cauldron, you hag?" Alberto snarled. He was too tired to deal with Gianni's insults. She cackled wildly, and thrashed her hair back.

"Why yes, I _am_ a hag." She snorted. "You're so out of touch, Pizzaro. Your hand-me-down muggle clothes can't hide that." Alberto stood up and grabbed his wand. The combination of his tiredness and the Slytherin girl's insults were too much for him.

"Wait, what is that?" Tyler asked oddly, standing between his two angry classmates. As he walked to Gianni's desk and grabbed her copy of the Hoggy Gazette.

"It's the bloody school paper…" Gianni said, her wand hanging at her side, annoyed at Tyler's interruption of the action.

"No, look Alberto. It says that… Firenze was found just inside of the forest- Unconscious! He's the Centaur Ali, Drew and I met with. It says: _Wednesday night, a student eye-witness saw ex Hogwarts professor and Centaur, Firenze being taken to the hospital wing under cover by teachers. When our anonymous witness asked where the body was found, he was told that it was indeed Firenze and that he was attacked in the forest."_ Tyler looked stunned, and his angsty nature disappeared. Before any more could be said, Slughorn began teaching the class as he hurried into the class, and Tyler sat down, his head down on his desk.

"Sorry, I'm late class. But I've got something rather interesting to show you today! Picked this up last night!" Slughorn raised a jar of what looked like crab claws floating in water of brownish hue.

"Acromantula pincers. Straight from the forest." Tyler looked at Alberto in horror. It took a while, but Alberto finally seemed to get it. Their potions professor had been in the forest, the same time that the centaur Firenze was attacked.


	10. Swoop into Action

**CHAPTER TEN: Swoop into action**

Drew's awakening on Friday morning was an eerie one, his head spinning with thoughts of what would come with initiation today. He sat upright in his four poster and looked around the room.

"I don't think I'm going to leave the dormitory today… Not feeling well." mumbled Christopher Patil sleepily. Drew glanced over to the left where Patil slept and shook his head, but before he could say anything in response, Matthew Ray was speaking loudly.

"Don't you even think about it. We're Gryffindors; this is what we're here for." He demanded as he popped out of his own bed. His voice would lead you to believe in his confidence, but Drew could tell by the droop of his face that he had not slept well either.

Down in the great hall, Drew met his friend's excited eyes. He looked around and all of the first years seemed to have similar expressions.

"Never took you all for morning people." Drew said as he sat down at the Ravenclaw table between Ali and Alberto. Tyler sat across the table, looking rather gloomy. "Oh, there's the Tyler I know and love." Tyler showed no emotion as he stared off blankly. Ali, however, chuckled as he bit into his toast.

"Don't you know what today is?" he asked. Drew shook his head and pulled out his class schedule. He had been so preoccupied with the upcoming squid task that he'd forgotton to check it this morning.

"I've just got one class let's see… it's er- flying?" Drew's eyes lit up as he read the pocket worn parchment. Drew now remembered his cousin Kelsi's tales from her first year, and he recalled her mentions of flying practice.

"Yep. And we've all got it together. Brilliant, huh?" Ali exclaimed. Alberto's eyes were misty.

"Totally brill." The Hufflepuff said dreamily.

On their way to the lawn where their lesson was to be held, the crowd of first years tittered with nothing but talks of quidditch.

"I'm a Ballycastle fan, myself." Drew told the boys behind him. "I've got family that lives down in Northern Ireland, so it's a must." Drew lifted the sleeve of his robe to reveal a scarlet and black bracelet with a bat logo emblazoned upon it.

"Aww! You're a bats fan? When was the last time _they _won the cup? '99?" chided Alberto's Hufflepuff roommate, John.

"We've got a great history; you can't tarnish that with a few bad years! Who do you support, then?" Drew replied, irked at the insult of his sport team.

"Me? Well I'm a Tutshill Tornados fan." John replied.

"The bloody Tornados? You and the rest of the country, mate! All they've got is Decker, and he's only a subpar seeker compared to the likes of Brenden McNeil, or even our reserve, Erin Walsh!" Drew bellowed.

"We'll just have to see there, mate. The Bats and the Tornadoes play on Halloween. Care to put your galleons where your words are?" John asked, as he kicked a rock down the hill the first year crowd descended. Drew squinted suspiciously.

"A Hufflepuff making wagers? Now I've seen everything. But I'll one up you. November first, the next day, is the first Hogwarts match of the season. I've got ten galleons on the Bats beating your Tornados, and ten more on Gryffindor beating Hufflepuff the next day!" '_Ooo's!' _were heard from the crowd, and Alberto gave Drew a playful shove. After a few moments, John shook Drew's hand in agreement.

"You've got yourself a bet, Bat boy."

Once the first years reached the lawn, many were met with an unpleasant nervous feeling. The massive group of every beginner class was overwhelming to Drew, and as each child stood by a broomstick, many who were on edge jumped at the sound of a sharp whistle. A young woman marched in between rows of brooms and gazed at the round young faces that stood around her.

"Ah, smell that, kids?" She said commandingly the shadow of a smile on her face. "That's the smell of flight. The wind, the trees, all of it. And you lucky lot get to spend the next few hours of this day, sky high." She said this grandly, changing the sunny atmosphere to one of freedom and longing to Drew. "You all have heard what it takes to be successful here, determination, mental capacity, a smudge of natural ability. I cannot promise that all of you will be the future of your individual houses' quidditch success, but I can guarantee that you will all learn the basics of flight today. My name," She paused dramatically and stopped walking. She seemed to stare Tyler right in the eye as she spoke, "Is Katie Bell." Tyler gave a goofy smile that Drew took for instant infatuation. While on the thought of such things, Drew peered down his row to find Brooke Mars silently staring at the instructor. His heart flushed at the thought of having to fly on a raggedy old broom in front of her.

Beside Drew, Alberto looked odd. The usual bags rested underneath his eyes, but along with his tired demeanor, Drew thought he could sense a bit of fear.

"You sure were quiet back there when John and I were talking about Quidditch clubs." Drew whispered to his left, as Katie Bell attempted to motivate the students down the row from where they were.

"Not er… much of a follower." Alberto replied, rubbing his eyes wearily. Drew's mouth hung open in disbelief.

"Your pureblood family doesn't follow Quidditch?" He asked, a bit louder than he intended to. He had grown up with the sport. His father and he used to fly together often, for as long as he could remember, and his mother was an avid fan of Ballycastle Quidditch as well. It was natural for him. Ali, being his best friend, was also in the loop, though a supporter of the mostly down and out Chudley Cannons.

"Well you lot are from around here, yeah? My dad's Spanish. We root on the national team whenever they do well in the tourney, but… I don't play. I've never even flown." Drew was slightly embarrassed for his friend. Not many wizards at Hogwarts were this casual about quidditch. It was the great past time, and Alberto was behind. Drew figured this would become apparent once Alberto took flight in front of the seventy or so students around him.

"Bloody hell, you-"

"_Shut up, boys!" _came the voice of Tiffany Goyle fiercely. Drew glared at her, but remained silent as the final instructions were given to them by Bell.

"You all understand, then? Broom between your legs, bounce off of the balls of your feet, and- don't give me that look, Mr. Rolf, I don't care how many times you've been flying with your brother- And hover off of the ground, okay students?" The children took care to follow her steps, and before too long, most were off of the ground. Drew looked around him, He floated next to Ali and a shaky Alberto, Tiffany seemed determined to look natural on her school hand-me-down broom, Tyler sat in the grass strangely, and Nick Gonzales proceeded to vomit a few yards away from the other students. Katie Bell rushed back and forth between students, and soon the field had busted into relative mayhem. Justin Fletcher, a brown haired Slytherin boy zoomed up into the sky, chasing a butterfly. Drew's new acquaintance, John Rolf was now performing aerial rolls that a chaser for the Tutshill Tornados was known for. Drew took the opportunity to perform his greatest move, a large loop followed by a quick stop. He managed it, though much slower than he would have on his own Nimbus model back home, and came to a halt just in front of Brooke Mars who looked generally unhappy as she levitated just above the ground. Drew glanced at her, but to his disappointment, she didn't seem to have been looking.

Floating back to his original spot, and avoiding a soaring Ali, Drew noticed the previously calm and collected Bell grabbing her hair in frustration.

"Mr. Gonzales, just… keep your vomit over there. Mr. Pizzaro, careful-" Alberto attempted to float a few feet higher, but lost his balance and wobbled himself off of the rickety old broom. The exhausted Hufflepuff boy laid in the grass face down and silent for a while before finally saying some muffled words into the ground. Katie Bell groaned.

"And you. What, are you just not even going to try?" She asked, turning to Tyler who held a loose blade of grass in his hand. He let the wind blow it away and watched it disinterestedly. Tyler glared at Bell, who now walked towards him.

"Not even going to answer me? What? I'm not worth your time, Slytherin boy? You don't respect me, do you? Is it because I'm _young?_ Is it because I'm a _witch_?" She ranted furiously. Drew thought he recognized some of Tiffany's mannerisms in Katie Bell. Tyler lifted an eyebrow, but remained sitting in the grass. Drew was stunned. Even in this disastrous moment, and even with Bell's inability to control a large group, it was unheard of to simply ignore a teacher. It was very unlike who Drew knew Tyler as, as well.

"What… are you afraid to fly? Hm, boy? I fought in the battle of Hogwarts, you know. I know all about you sneaky little- Mr. Gonzales, STAY OVER THERE- I know all about your kind. Sneaking about and not caring about the wellbeing of yourself, or those around you." Drew began to think that Bell's words were unjustified; attacking Tyler like this was brutal, and trying to define his house by some old battle that happened when they were kids? To further Drew's and Bell's surprise, Tyler smirked. He got up from the grass and walked over to where Alberto remained laying, from Drew's high point of view, he assumed that Alberto had just begun to take a nap. Tyler grabbed Alberto's broom and saddled it. He then proceeded to bound into the air, and rocket into the sky. Drew's eyes bulged, and as Tiffany and Ali floated near him, they too gasped. Tyler had flown higher than all of the other students dared, he was now just a pencil led shaped dot in the sky. The dot started to grow, as Tyler sped towards the ground, pushing the broom as fast as it would take him. All of the students around stopped to stare in awe as Tyler fell to his almost certain death. He was just a few feet from the ground now; he was nearly there, and… He pulled the handle of his broom up and executed a perfect dive, one that would even make Drew's beloved Ballycastle Bats jealous.

Every single student halted their previous bustle and stared in complete astonishment at Tyler's feat. The Slytherin boy hopped off of his broom at tossed it aside. From behind him, Drew heard a slow clap. He spun around to see Justin Fletcher hovering in midair, apparently applauding his housemate's moves. A few more first years joined in with Kent and, Drew, smirking, contributed to the applause.

"Now… that's enough!" raged Katie Bell. "Are you all so impressed that a pure blood knows how to fly? Really?" Tyler raised an eyebrow and walked towards the blonde flying instructor insolently.

"No, ma'am. They're all impressed that a _muggle born_ knows how to fly." He said coldly. Bell's eyes widened and she shrieked. She now realized that she had lost complete control of the class.

"Now, I don't feel well, Miss. So I'll be on my way to the hospital wing, if you need me." Tyler said calmly. And with that he turned towards the castle and walked up the lawn.

"Wait- Just… take Pizzaro and Gonzales with you… please?" Tyler smiled as Alberto and Nick jogged up to catch up with him. For the rest of the designated period, Bell sat against a tree with a moan, as the first years who wished to fly did what they wanted in the skies, and those who didn't socialized on the ground.

"Chin up, teach. You'll get it." Drew chirped positively to his now bawling flying instructor. He grimaced, he did feel a bit bad.

Alberto sauntered back inside of the castle with Tyler and Nicolai. Tyler seemed to have a look in his eyes that gave off the impression that he was on edge, as if he was waiting for someone to hand him a million galleons. Nicolai seemed miserable, holding his stomach; he followed behind the two other boys. Alberto debated starting up a conversation between the boys. Not sure whether or not he wanted to solely because of Nick's nauseous condition. Alberto did not want to trigger anything unpleasant.

Meandering out of the dungeon entry way, Alberto spotted none other than Wasim Kabu on the floor below them, a flash of anger struck Alberto.

"Hey, mind telling me what you're playing at? Snitching me out?" He called to him aggressively. Wasim stopped in his tracks, and was quick to shake his head at the accusation. He stated that he was simply trying to save him from Filch but failed.

"I thought that maybe… maybe if I followed you enough I could bail you out of a bad situation like you did for me. Just wanted to get even, that's all." Wasim explained hurriedly, "But I suppose I failed. I should've never said I _owed _you anything. Gotta be more careful with my phrasing…" The Slytherin boy was trailing off at this point. With hands crossed over his chest, Alberto hesitated before an idea sprung into his brain. Right when Wasim showed a bit of eagerness to leave, Alberto opened his mouth.

"Right- you still owe me. And I know just the way you can repay me… Listen; in potions you seem to be real mates with old Slughorn,"

"Well he's my head of house, and... well, what's your point?"

"He's up to something. I want you to tail him. Follow him around, meet with him after classes, whatever. You two need to become best friends, and you're to report to me with anything suspicious that he may be up to." Alberto said sternly. This inspired a reaction from Tyler, who finally seemed to come to life, realizing what was happening.

"Well what for? We're not _that _close! He just thinks I'm good a potions, is all."

"It's none of your business _what for_! You owe me one, don't forget." Alberto said in the most intimidating voice he could muster. Wasim didn't seem to be afraid, but rather accepting. His eyes shifted around the entrance hall before he nodded and turned to leave. "Oh, and don't let me catch you skiving off class again or I'll report you to the Headmistress and have your arse on the train home!" Alberto called to the back of the dark haired Slytherin. To this, Wasim turned around and grinned.

"I didn't fancy the idea of showing up all of you rookies out at flying today, looks like it turned out well for you lot, though." He said, as he gestured toward a once again vomiting Nick. Tyler went on to tug on Alberto's robes, anxiously reminding him about having to go the Hospital Wing. From the kitchen corridor came two older Hufflepuffs who were having a laugh. Alberto recognized the second year, Danny who was sure to greet his younger friend quickly before rambling on again about exploding snap.

"Alberto!" Tyler screamed, obviously annoyed with his friend's constant social stops.

No more stops came along their way as they finally made it to the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey walked briskly out towards the boys examining each one of them.

"Mr. Harper, this is around the third time you've been in here! For Godric's sake, can't you be just a little bit more safe? What is it you keep doing that brings you here? I haven't had a student in here with such frequency since Martin Rigby's chronic scrofungulus!" She nagged as she motioned him in with a worried look on her face. Alberto wondered the same thing, _why was Tyler so eager to come here so often? _But Pomfrey seemed to assume that something was wrong with him, as she gave him a bed. She then proceeded to take a glimpse at Nicolai, and sent the nauseated boy straight to the bed at the very end, levitating a trash bin for him to be sick in. She then glanced at Alberto and arched her eyebrow.  
>"And you- Why're you here? You don't seem like anything's wrong with you… In fact, it seems like every time you show up here it's to hand me a student that's been hurt!" The stern look she shot at him rose the hair on the back of his neck.<p>

Alberto nodded his head nervously. "I'll be out of your hair, madam Pomfrey!" He waved to Tyler and grimaced at the sight of Nick's upchucking.

_Blimey, this old bag of bones hates me…_ he assumed as he walked down the staircase, wiping his tired eyes. Shrugging it off he decided he would go off to the Owlery to write to finally write to his parents of how things were at Hogwarts, something he'd been avoiding for a while now.

Walking back to the Grand staircase he headed up to the Seventh floor. He received gestures, both good and bad from kids of different houses. Autumn tenderly shoved him on the shoulder biting her lip as he turned around to greet her.

"Didn't forget did you…?" she probed. Albert shook his head denying this, though it was true. He was so busy and stressed with other things. She was probably one of the last things that crossed his mind. In fact she hadn't crossed his mind at all. The only girl that managed to become lodged in his mind was Gianni- and how he was planning on getting back at her. He told her that sometime later in the weekend he would take her, before continuing on towards his destination.

He entered the Seventh Floor corridor and headed on towards the West Tower. At the end was a door that rounded off at the top, with a large handle to pull it open. He walked up the large spiraling stairs past the tower's battlement and into the Owlery. The floor was concealed by hay which was then covered by owl droppings and carcasses of mice. The room had a stench of rotting meat and waste which made Alberto cringe, though he didn't know what he expected. He'd been outside of the Owlery on one of his midnight strolls and was sure he caught a whiff of the inside as he walked by.

He reached into the bag slung over his shoulder and drew from it a bare piece of parchment paper and a quill to write with.

He leaned against the wall where light shined from an open window and began to scribble his letter. He would halt every now and then to check what he wrote, and to choose what he would write to them next. He had more things to tell than he could fit in one letter, and decided it'd be best just to give them the gist of his first week. Once finished, he stared up into the balconies above and gulped at the thought of having to climb up and attach his scrolled up letter to an owl's leg. As he began climbing one of the wobbly ladders that led up, he heard a voice call from below.

"Oooh, don't look down!"

Doing the opposite of what he was instructed, he swung his head around to see the producer of the female voice. His sister looked up at him. Her brown hair was askew, and she had a white quill sticking up from within like an Indian head feather.

"Nataly! Poor timing," He gasped as he pulled himself up onto the balcony. "A few seconds sooner and maybe you'd have actually scared me."

"Ah, blast!" She said in jest. He stuck his tongue out at her. "But seriously, Kiddo, be careful. Who're you writing to?" She asked, craning her neck.

"The 'rents, of course." He said, now on his knees twirling his letter. Nataly's eyes widened.

"Good luck explaining the whole, 'my best friends are mud bloods and blood traitors' thing." Alberto scoffed.

"I wasn't dumb enough to mention all of that. I er… was very general. But I do need a few galleons and maybe some muggle clothes, like yours, so I figured it was time to write." Nataly looked down at her skirt.

"Probably not _exactly_ like mine, Bert." She laughed. "Didn't think Mr. Hoggy Gazette would be taking fashion advice from us mortals!" Alberto grinned embarrassedly.

"You saw that?"

She rolled her eyes and pointed up near Alberto.

"You should use my owl, Tina." stated the third year Ravenclaw seriously. He shimmied across the balcony to where Tina, the snowy owl was perched. He flashed her a smile, and brushed his fingers against her head as he tied the letter to her leg. Without a second to spare the owl stretched her wings wide open and flew out one of the open windows.

He looked out the window, watching it vanish into the light blue sky. Once it was out of sight he turned himself around to climb down. Suddenly, a large owl came slashing through the air from the top most balcony. Startled, he took a step back, his feet falling off the edge that he stood on, he fell backwards through the air. His left hand reached out towards one of the stone perches. He gripped it quickly, but when the rest of his body caught up with him, he could feel and hear a pop in his left shoulder, causing him to let go and topple to the ground.

His holler echoed through the tower as all the birds above abruptly fly out of their resting place. He gritted his teeth; tears welling up in his eyes. Nataly ran to him, kneeling beside him. She took quick notice of his shoulder.

"This is perfect- Er… be still, Bert." She said, trying to mask excitement. Alberto was in too much pain to question what was happening.

He bellowed more incoherent sobs, and Nataly nodded understandingly, as she gingerly lifted his left arm and withdrew her wand.

"I've been wanting to use this spell, and I know enough about it in theory… Shouldn't be too hard, simplest healing charm there is…" She mumbled as she slashed open his closed chested robe to get a better angle at his shoulder.

"_In theory? _No- Nataly!" he howled. The thought of a third year student putting their wand on his shoulder sounded frightening, no matter how much he trusted his si

ter. Nataly, ignoring his complaint, flicked her wand.

"_Episky!"_ A cyan light engulfed Alberto's shoulder as it slid back into position. The pain blinded him for a second before fading almost completely. She then stood, a cocky expression on her face, "Bet it feels fine, doesn't it?" He followed in her footsteps and stood up the same. He moved his body around a bit. Jumping up and down, shaking his arms around to see how much movement he had. His shoulder was stiff, but other than that and a few cuts on his hand, he was perfectly fine.

"You're bloody brilliant, Nat." He said, as he embraced Nataly in a tight hug.  
>"Comes with being a Ravenclaw, bro." She replied. They both chortled, before they walked down together back to the main part of the castle.<p>

Upon arrival in the great hall, Drew sat down at the Ravenclaw table. He received some judgmental glares, but as he and his friends decided, they would rotate which house table they sat at each day. Drew was relieved to see Ali, who sat on the bench next across from him, and introduced him to a few of his housemates. Drew smiled and shook hands politely, but he was sure that his jittery feelings of tonight were seeping through his formality. Eventually, Alberto and Tyler joined the others and they all dug into their feast. Drew looked up at his friends' obliviousness before finally cracking. In hushed tones, he informed them of what would be happening tonight.

"… and to top it all off, I've got to go down there with Matthew-bleeding-Ray and the others." He finished.

"Feeding the giant squid? That's mad!" Alberto said loudly, a piece of chicken skin dangling from his lower lip.

"Not only that, but to send first years out into the castle at midnight? They've got to be a bunch of _morons_ if they think they won't lose house points." Ali said, his nostrils flaring.

Drew shrugged as he took a bite of a bread roll.

"Seems that's about half of my house- _morons."_

"You could just not go." Tyler said simply as he poured something out of a small vial into his goblet of pumpkin juice.

"I have to go! I've got to prove to Ray and Patil that I _am_ a bloody Gryffindor." Drew said through gritted teeth.

"What've you got to prove though, mate? The sorting hat put you in Gryffindor, didn't it? That kind of tells us that you're courageous and that, you're only showing that you're a moron if you go trying to wrestle the squid." Alberto said frowning.

Drew shook his head. He didn't expect other houses to understand what this signified.

"I'm not wrestling anything," He reminded them. "Besides, it's the sneaking out that I'm worried about, if I get caught by a teacher or prefect… everybody's gonna want my arse."

A light bulb seemed to go off in Alberto's head and his eyes flickered between his friends. He stood up from his seat and took a final bite of drumstick before gesturing for his friends to stand.

"I've got something to show you lot, come on!"

"I'm still eating…" Tyler moaned. Alberto shot him a glance and he instantly rose. "Fine."

Drew, Ali and Tyler rushed behind Alberto out of the great hall and up the entry stairs; upon reaching the grand staircase, they took the nearest to the second floor, and Alberto darted left and right into different halls before leading them to a familiar room.

"Oh, come on! Not this old fireplace nonsense again!" Drew cried angrily. Alberto smiled and pulled out his Hazel wand and lit it with a sputtering '_lumos'. _He reached his wand out to tap the soot covered brick that was located in the middle of the fireplace. The black brick fell out abruptly and the rest of the bricks shifted and turned to reveal an entrance, much like the passage between the leaky cauldron and Diagon alley that the boys had all seen earlier in the year.

"I figured it out a couple of nights ago by accident! Filch was on my trail and I leaned into the bricks with my wand lit! Brill, right?" Alberto exclaimed, grinning. Ali's hand rested on his chin as he analyzed the situation.

"Yeah, just as I thought," He said slowly. "See this tapestry?" He asked his companions, pointing to a hanging piece of fabric on the wall. The tapestry depicted a wizard holding his wand, alight. "The answer was here in the room all along."

Alberto's face fell in disappointment.

"Well I found it myself, didn't need any hints…" He mumbled as he squatted through the new entry way. The other boys followed in, Tyler having to crawl on his hands in knees. Alberto didn't allow the boys any time to soak in the room around them as he instantly walked up a flight of stairs within.

"Okay, so there are four tunnels within this passage. I've been thinking since I was here last… four tunnels, four houses, yeah?" Alberto said fleetingly. Ali rolled his eyes. "Look." Alberto said, his eyes twinkling with excitement. He rubbed some dust off of the stone wall. "A lion."

Drew stared at the thin carving on the stone, it definitely resembled a lion. Alberto dashed off once again, this time down some steps on the left side of the foyer. This tunnel didn't end in a dead end like the one before, but instead it revealed a statue of a badger.

"How much more obvious could it be?"

But the others weren't so easy. A snake-like staircase down was a hopeful candidate for Slytherin, as it ended in a Gargoyle guard of greenish hue. Ali made a connection between the star gazing window above one of the brick dead ends and the fact that Ravenclaw's common room was near the astronomy tower.

"Okay, I buy it." Drew admitted once in the circular stone room once again. "But how do we use them?"

Alberto seemed stumped at this.

"I suppose _if_ these _are_ passages that relate to the common rooms, maybe we'd have to use a password? Or I'd have to answer a riddle… but who's to ask it?" Ali said, stroking his chin. Tyler scoffed.

"Seriously?" He asked, looking amused. He pulled his wand out from within his robe pocket and whispered '_lumos'. _His light ignited the damp room with a bluish hue and he marched down the spiraling stairwell that lead to the rusty gargoyle. He waved his wand in front of it, and it cracked. From atop the stairs, Drew and the others looked on with surprise. The gargoyle seemed to stretch- as if waking up from a long rest, and leaned back into the stone wall behind him. The wall rotated to the side, revealing another tunnel.

"Tyler! How did you know?" Alberto asked in shock. He'd had his wand lit near the statue before, but it didn't occur to him that it could've triggered entry into what the Gargoyle hid.

"It's pretty obvious, aint it? You wizards are real smart when it comes to your world, but when it comes down to common sense, you're lacking." The others shrugged and leapt down the steps to walk down the dark hall.

Tyler led the way, wand aglow, but it proved useless as torches lit periodically to light their way. The path was long and winding, it seemed to go steeper and steeper until they met a ladder. It was quite tall, and the boys could only make out the top if they squinted, but alas, it looked rather safe, and Tyler began his climb. A few minutes later, they heard him call from somewhere in the high up darkness.

"I know where we are! This ends in the sewer lid that's just outside of common room. I'd been wondering what the deal was with it…"

"Can you push it up?" Drew yelled. The sound of sliding metal answered his question, and the boys beamed.

"Brilliant. Let's try the others!" Drew took off back through the uphill path and was quite sore by the end, but still excited. The rest of the boys followed, and spent the next hour '_lumos-ing' _their ways into the tunnels. Each one ended up near their common room. The Gryffindor passage ended in a crack beneath a bookshelf that was just outside of the portrait of the fat lady, Ravenclaw's was a steep climb that ended in a slide, shooting Ali out into a pile of balled up tapestries that lay outside of the astronomy classroom. Hufflepuff's came out from a barrel opposite of the one that entered the common room, and required a good deal of pushing for Alberto to pop the lid off of it.

Once all back in the foyer, the boys collapsed on the floor, exhausted.

"Well, Drew. That's how you're going to get through the castle undetected. Take the Gryffindor passage down here, and then take the 'Puff's out to the grounds." Alberto said hoarsely.

Drew nodded, thankful of his friend's discovery. He then beamed at his friends.

"Who do you reckon used all of these?" He asked after a few dry moments. Other than the Slytherin passage, they all looked quite used. Burned out torches, lying about and dirty footprints marking up each hall.

There was no answer from the others.

"Well apparently Filch didn't even know about it," Tyler said looking to Alberto who nodded. "So, I say it's _ours._" He said steadily. Ali's eyes twinkled as he got an idea.

"We need a name- Identification… Seeing as this is our hideout, now."

Alberto smiled, glad that Ali was now on board.

"It's just like the Kidd twins said the other day," Ali said, grinning brilliantly. "_'A knave, a rascal, an eater of broken meats!'_ It's a Shakespearean quote -Great old warlock that bloke was-See, We're the _Knaves_. Explorers- free men of sorts. It fits!" Ali exclaimed. The boys looked around, eyes popping. They felt the importance in the air. The group was now official, and it the mantle of 'Knaves', an insult turned title, fit them perfectly.

Drew squinted at his watch in the darkness and read that it was nearly midnight. The only light that came into the room was a narrow moon beam from the Ravenclaw tunnel that currently glinted off of Ali's glasses. Drew announced that he needed to be going, and darted back to the Gryffindor passage, taking it to the end and crawling through the gap in the bookshelf before delivering the password to the fat lady. She permitted him entrance, and he climbed through the hole into his warm scarlet common room.

The room was quite busy. He noticed his dorm mates sitting in chairs around the fire, all deep in thought and silent, but surrounding them older students bustled about, laughing loudly and exchanging galleons.

"That one? No way, Skyler! I know his older sister, she would've prepared him for this. And what about him?" Said Andy Harrison loudly, speaking to the dreadlocked boy that Drew saw sitting at the Ravenclaw table the other day. Drew took notice that Andy was pointing directly at him. He raised his eyebrows.

"Nope, that's Kelsi Florence's cousin." The dreadheaded Skyler answered in a slightly more hushed tone. Drew was confused. What did Kelsi being his cousin had to do with what was happening tonight.

The boys spoke to each other more softly, and exchanged a few galleons before exiting to their apparent dorms. Drew scratched his head, before sitting down in a chair next to Miles Galloway. He pulled his Defense against the Dark Arts book out of his bag and began cramming the knowledge he'd need for Monday's test while he had time. The chapter he was assigned to read was over 'Trap Black' a fairly common occurrence in the wizarding world- A faux darkness that produced fear and made it difficult to find what one was looking for. Immune to light, it could only be extinguished with the counter charm 'Verdimillious'. Drew once experienced his grandmother using the charm to remove the Trap Black that was produced by the house ghost in her guest bedroom.

_When faced with Trap Black and unable to produce the Verdimillious charm (See pg. 43) Use the power of thought to find something you're looking for. (Ex: If Johnny wants to find his kneazle, he should think of how unpleasant it would be to be bitten by his kneazle on the toe at the moment.) Known practitioners of Mystical Black are: Savage Ghosts, Poltergeists, Specters, Boggarts. _

Drew wondered whether 'Savage Ghosts' was politically correct, and considered how Sir. Nicholas would feel about it. 

A few minutes or so passed, and with it, nearly all of the leftover Gryffindors that were in the common room. A door being opened could be heard from behind them, and the first year boys spun around, to meet seventh year Chuck Jenkins.

"Well?" he asked anticlimactically. "You lot know what you've got to do. Here-" He tossed a bag of what seemed to be a muggle snack to Matthew Ray.

"_Cheetos?" _Ray asked incredulously.

Jenkins nodded.

"The squid loves 'em. Now go on. You've got an hour." The boys all stood up and walked towards the portrait hole. Jenkins exited the room behind them, but another door opened. Tiffany Goyle stood in the middle of the common room, wand out. Drew and the rest of the first year boys spun around, most of them startled, expecting more news from Jenkins, before the tension vanished again.

"Oi, Goyle, get out of here." Ray said bluntly. Tiffany stepped into the light glaring.

For a split second, Drew thought that she was going to jinx Ray, but then she said,

"I'm coming with you lot."

Drew looked quickly to Ray and Patil.

"Like hell you are!" Ray snarled, "You're a _girl!" _

Tiffany seemed to be expecting this, and with one quick movement, she leapt across the common room and yanked Emile by the arm and put him into a headlock. The red headed boy struggled valiantly, but Tiffany out muscled him. Emile McGinnis wasn't a particularly small boy, and was quite a bit bigger than Drew, but Tiffany was solid and just as tall as he was.

"If I'm not going, neither is McGinnis!" She spat, her wand now pointing at Emile's neck. Drew didn't doubt Tiffany's threat, as she was top in their house in academics, and more likely than not, she knew the magic to hurt Emile. Drew frowned at her; he didn't understand why she _wanted_ to go.

"Oh come on, Tiffany, he's got to do it- to be a Gryffindor!" Drew pleaded, stepping near her. She directed her wand at him now.

"Say I can go." She demanded. Drew backed away with his hands raised.

"Well, I suppose…" He began.

"No way, Henry! She's not coming!" Matthew Ray raged, drawing his own wand. Drew turned to the boy, angry that he was being undermined.

"She'll be just as much of help- If not _more _than any of us if anything goes wrong down there!" Drew said. Tiffany agreed over the sound of Emile's choking sounds. Ray opened his mouth to shout something back, but he was stopped by Christopher Patil reminding him of their time limit.

"Whatever. You and your _she-troll_ can find your own way down." He spat, and Tiffany dropped Emile in excitement. Emile scrambled to his feet and rubbed his neck, his face very red. He glared back at Tiffany but didn't dare say a thing as he followed the rest of the boys out.

Drew's head felt hot. He wanted to use what he had learned in dueling club against Matthew Ray, and secretly hoped he'd get to sometime tonight. Turning to Tiffany he gestured to the portrait.

"I know how to get down to the grounds quickly." He said in a forced friendly voice. Tiffany clapped her hands and skipped behind him out of the portrait.

Drew showed Tiffany the hole underneath the bookshelf and slid through, she followed (Needing a bit of help to squeeze in) and the two took the secret tunnel down.

"I still don't get why you feel the need to come risk your life." Drew said finally, absentmindedly tapping his wand against the stone wall as he walked.

"Pride." She said after thinking about it for a moment. "I heard some of the older folks talking about it earlier today and I wondered why the girls haven't got any initiation. I asked, and that _git_ Jenkins said that it was because we'd lose our heads. How bloody sexist is that?" Drew was silent. He didn't think anybody should have to go through an initiation, so he supposed he didn't see a problem with equal rights to stupid things.

The rest of the journey throughout the still night was a tranquil one. By the time Drew and Tiffany crawled through the secret barrel, he'd nearly forgotten what they were out for. Creeping into the entrance hall, and pushing open the heavy oak door was nerve racking, but at last they found themselves sitting at the dock, waiting for the others to appear with the Squid's food.

Drew tossed a smooth stone at the lake, watching it skip. He wondered how many other students in Hogwarts' history had ever done the very same. The silhouette of the Castle could be seen over a few trees to their left, and it was indeed, a peaceful scene. Drew turned to Tiffany, wanting to keep his mind off of the squid.

"Hey, so whatever happened with your parents?" he asked gingerly. He knew that Tiffany's emotions were sporadic, and he didn't quite fancy being tossed into the lake.

"I wrote them a letter back that night." she said simply. Drew smiled at her approvingly.

"That's great! Just keep talking to them, they love you! You're their daughter, and-"

"I told them that I hated them and would become twice what they ever amounted to."

Drew's mouth hung open, and he couldn't manage anything other than a quiet 'oh'. She shrugged and stood up.

"There they are!" She cried, waving into the airy darkness at the outline of three first year boys. _Three? _Four boys had left the common room ahead of Drew and Tiffany. Drew stepped back into the moist grass and lit his wand. The light was cast into the shadows to reveal Matthew Ray, Christopher Patil and Miles Galloway.

"Where's Emile!" Drew and Matthew yelled in unison. The two exchanged confused glances as Matthew stepped into Drew's lumos beam. Drew's roommates looked around the dock, puzzled.

"We thought that you lot had him." Miles said, his hazel eyes wide. Drew shook his head.

"Why would we?" Drew questioned.

"Well _she_ tried to choke him out in the common room!" bellowed the usually silent Christopher Patil. Tiffany seemed to take offence and she stepped up to Christopher, looking into his eyes angrily.

"Stop!" Drew said, pushing both of his house mates back. "We can look for Emile later- he was probably just scared and went back to the common room." Drew figured, "Can we just get this rubbish over with?"

Matthew grunted behind Christopher and uncurled the rolled up bag of Cheetos he kept in his robes. He walked stiffly over to the dock and turned around.

"I'm just going to pour this muggle schlock in the lake, and then we can leave. Jenkins never said we actually had to _see_ the squid eating." The others nodded quietly and watched Ray empty the orange puffs into the black water. The chips floated, and otherwise the water was completely still, only the image of a full moon reflecting in the darkness. A breath of relief was heard from Ray as he turned around smiling. "That's that. Not too bad, now let's go." He said, stepping back towards the bank and off of the dock.

_Crack. _

A pink tentacle blasted out of one of the wooden planks that Ray attempted to walk on. His leg slipped through the gap and a few more tentacles emerged, splintering the dock. Ray released a loud shriek as one of the plunger-covered limbs wrapped itself around his body. Another shattering of wood revealed a fully arisen giant squid. An oily black eye stared onto the shore at the other students. Tiffany squealed as she stumbled backwards, and Miles and Christopher scrambled for their wands. Drew was quickest to the draw, taking aim at a now airborne tentacle that held Matthew Ray in its grip.

"No! You'll only irritate it… it's going to dive!" Tiffany cried, her voice hesitating, but it was too late. Drew yelled '_flipendo'! _He watched in horror, wishing that he could take the spell back as it missed its target, slamming into Matthew Ray's face. Ray's body went limp and it was obvious that he passed out. Drew's eyes were wide, verging on tears, he felt helpless. He looked around for something- anything -that could help save the boy, but instead, he found a thick tentacle swiping across his midsection. His body went flying into the shallow part of the lake, the water barely slowing his fall. The pain that filled his body was too much. His mind went blank, and his eyes saw nothing but darkness.

Drew woke up in the hospital wing; it was the sunlight that had woken up, an open window being across the room from him. The room was white, and it took his eyes a few moments of adjusting before they would completely open. He searched the infirmary for Madam Pomfrey, the nurse Tyler constantly mentioned, but she was nowhere to be seen. He groaned, trying to recall what he last remembered. He recalled the squid, Matthew Ray, and a missing Emile McGinnis. Drew flipped over on his right side and began to close his eyes and put his worries to rest before he heard the creaking of a door opening at the other end of the wing.

Neville Longbottom, the head of Gryffindor and professor of Herbology entered the room, his grey robes hanging neatly behind him. Drew thought about greeting his teacher, but found it difficult to get his voice to do much.

"Good day, Mister Henry." Longbottom said comfortingly. Drew stretched his arms as he sat up in his hospital bed, waving at his professor and watching the man pull a chair up to his bed. "I'm sure you're wondering a few things."

Drew nodded with a hoarse 'yes', though _a few things_ was an understatement. Longbottom explained that Drew had been out for nearly a day and a half, and that the squid had apparently broken his ribs. Drew patted his own ribcage and noticed nothing out of the usual; he supposed Pomfrey's healing was true. Apparently, Matthew Ray had signed out of the hospital wing earlier that day with only a few injuries, and was saved by a severing charm delivered by professor Slughorn who'd heard screaming from his office. Drew thought that the Slughorn bit sounded suspicious, but he didn't question it.

"As head of Gryffindor house, I had to inform you of these things, Drew, and I think it goes without saying that your choice to go on this little adventure was very wrong." Drew swallowed guiltily. He wondered whether or not Longbottom knew about the initiation.

"I've been told that all of this was a part of some initiation of sorts, something that's been going on for a few years now, being run by older students." Longbottom continued, seeming to have read Drew's mind. "Because of this, none of you first years will be punished, _but _once we've found out who ran this little jaunt, that person definitely will be." Drew let out a sigh of relief. It seemed that none of the other first years who were down by the lake felt the need to tell Longbottom about Jenkins, and he supposed he didn't either. Tradition was tradition, no matter how catastrophic things got.

"However," Longbottom continued, looking down in what Drew read as disappointment. "Gryffindor is being deducted one hundred house points for these events." Drew nearly jumped out of his bed in outrage.

"_One hundred?_" Drew managed. He didn't even know that Gryffindor had that many points this early in the year, but that would definitely set them behind by a lot. Longbottom said nothing, but sighed. He stood up and patted Drew's leg before turning to exit. Drew cursed under his breath, he was sure he was going to hear about this from the other Gryffindors. He then realized something- Longbottom never mentioned Emile… Drew took this to mean that he was okay and pushed it to the back of his mind.

Minutes passed and the door creaked open once again. In came Madam Pomfrey looking peeved, followed by Ali, Tyler and Alberto. Drew's three best friends rushed in, bombarding him with recounts of the events he missed as well as playfully bashing what happened down by the lake.

"'Course Patil says that you knocked out Ray and threw him to the squid. We all know that that's a load of rubbish, right? …It _is _rubbish, isn't it?" asked Ali, obviously unsure. Drew laughed hollowly before denying the claims and telling what really happened.

"I reckon that'll be their excuse to hand me my arse." Drew said, clearly not worried about it at the moment.

"Alright, enough of the bad news!" Alberto said loudly, giving Ali an annoyed look. "Brooke Mars," Alberto said flicking his eyebrows suggestively, "She's been talking about you an awful lot."

The mullato boy blushed and put his face in his hands. Alberto laughed at Drew's embarrassment. Drew finally came out of his shell to prod his Hufflepuff friend for information.

"Well? What'd she say?" He asked finally.

"Oh you know, she's been distraught, hoping you weren't seriously hurt… Talking about how _incredibly _brave you must've been." Drew smiled awkwardly, trying to conceal his joy In front of his friends.

"Well she's right hot, mate. Good for you." Tyler said offhandedly as he browsed a medicine cabinet to the left of Drew's bed. Once again, Drew opened his mouth to say something about Tyler's activities before being interrupted. Madam Pomfrey barged into the clinic once again, to shoo Drew's friends away. Seeing that she was serious, they were obedient, waving goodbye to Drew as they exited the white walled wing.

Drew was force fed a couple of pills and potions before Pomfrey told him to get some more rest so that he could make it to class tomorrow morning. Drew didn't argue and laid back.

"Oh, Mister Henry, your wand…" she said suddenly, her once strict voice fading. Drew looked to the bedside table for the first time and saw his Apple wood wand sitting there, its tone a bit darker due to the water. "It's been sparking ever since you came in here… though it _has_ seemed to have stopped now that you're awake… still, that's never a good sign." She said curiously. Drew squinted, and reached to pick up his wand. He twirled it around in his fingers, and a few blood red sparks shot out of the end, stinging his fingers. Drew cursed loudly (Inspiring a disapproving look from Madam Pomfrey) before placing the instrument back on the bedside table. He had an odd feeling that just as his fellow Gryffindors were sure to be; his wand was cross with him.

With nothing more to do, Drew rolled his eyes and went back to sleep.


	11. Play With Me

**CHAPTER ELEVEN: PLAY WITH ME**

The following few weeks went by without anything too eventful occurring in class or Dueling practice, though the halls of Hogwarts buzzed with mystery and confusion. Emile was still missing, and his disappearance led to many rumors floating throughout the school.

"_I heard that HE was responsible for Gryffindor's lost points, and he was expelled!" _

"_I heard that he's just had twenty four hour detention with McGonagall after he led that late night expedition!" _

"_A friend of mine said they saw him outside of the forbidden forest! 'Course we're not allowed outside, but I believe it!" _

"_I bet he was just scared witless by the squid and he ran home to his mummy. Some Gryffindor!" _

Drew wasn't sure what to believe, but he knew that the teachers didn't know anything more than he did. McGonagall's face was a worried pale whenever she was seen outside of her office, which wasn't with much frequency.

The Gryffindor common room was naturally a warzone, with most of the battles occurring in Drew's dormitory. Matthew Ray had already initiated a couple of shouting matches, accusing Drew of both attacking him at the lake, and somehow kidnapping Emile McGinnis all in one night. Drew fought back, but as the tension grew, he found it preferable to enter his scarlet bed after Ray and Patil went to sleep.

Miles Galloway was taking his best friend's absence hard. Miles didn't buy into the accusations claiming Drew was a threat, but instead stood up for him on multiple occasions. Drew found it comforting that he had at least one faithful Gryffindor friend. Tiffany Goyle was of course as fickle as ever, and as Halloween neared, she decided to join in on the mild hatred of the first year boys for losing Gryffindor so many house points.

Alberto, however, found this fact enjoyable as he strode past the entrance hall's hour glasses that kept house point totals only to notice that Hufflepuff was a few points out of first place, and with a victory against Gryffindor in quidditch the next day, they would hop both Ravenclaw and Slytherin to sit in the lead.

Alberto sat down with the knaves at the Hufflepuff table that morning. It had been decided that only the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables were acceptable for them all to sit at, the Gryffindors and Slytherins having put up a fuss every time the lot tried to share a table. As far as the teachers were concerned, house mixing was revolutionary; in fact Professor Flitwick had given Ali ten house points after noticing a few weeks back.

As they chit-chatted about the recent school gossip (most including upcoming Halloween events), Tyler was seen glancing up at the transparent ceiling, gazing at the Jack-o Lanterns that seemed to glide through the light blue sky above. Some of the pumpkins wore scary faces, other with funny ones etched into their skin. Tyler pointed out one in particular that shared a remarkable resemblance with Peeves the poltergeist. At the head of each of the house tables floated a pumpkin carved with the first initial of each of the houses. As the boys sipped from their Goblets. Danny Derek the second year yelled,

"Mail's here!" and high-fived his mates. It had become a sort of game played by the students in the great hall to see who could spot the first owl swooping in with packages. Alberto ignored the incoming aviary in favor of his oatmeal, but to his surprise, a package was dropped directly on his head, causing him to sputter bits of his breakfast everywhere. Gripping the rectangular box, he ripped the brown wrapping paper off of it quickly, assuming it was his parents' late reply to the letter he'd sent more than a month ago. But catching him off guard once again was his older brother's untidy scrawl written across a white index card.

'_Alberto, _

_I visited the parents last week. Dad was pretty upset. He mentioned something about you being a blood traitor? I suggest you don't open your next letter from them at all, howlers are right awful! Anyway, you've still got my support, baby brother! And, as is tradition, have a happy havoc filled Halloween!_ _If you ever get a chance, come chat me up in Zonko's down in Hogsmeade over Christmas break, the shop's not as popping as it used to be… hope we're not a WWW by the time I next see you!_

_-Mario Pizzaro Jr. _

_PS- A little bit goes a long way!' _

Drew and Tyler peered into the box to see what was given to him, and Ali craned his neck from the other side of the table to catch a glimpse. Alberto let out a quiet but audible laugh as he grabbed a small pink wheel out of the package- A stink pellet.

His brother was an expert prankster, if not much else. He'd never finished school at Durmstrang, the school where he intended- by his father's request, instead of Hogwarts, and was quite content with working at a joke shop in Hogsmeade. Not as independent like their sister Natalie, Alberto spent a lot of time with Mario when he was younger, and took his mischievous qualities from him. Alberto was aware of Zonko's losing business these days, as his brother often complained about the up and coming franchise Weasley's Wizard Wheezes- a popular joke shop that was expanding its buildings across Europe.

Without hesitation, Alberto slid a few of the fleshy devices into his robe pocket, and closed the box quickly. Drew gave his Hufflepuff friend a confused expression, but Alberto dismissed it. He stood up from the table, grabbing his box and waving goodbye to his friends. All the while, plotting to take advantage of the ultimate Halloween opportunity.

After a while, Tyler and Alberto met up in the entrance hall and headed into the dungeons for double potions. Reaching the class, Alberto walked in with an enlightening attitude, and a silly grin painted onto his face. They sat in their seats, Alberto leaning over to smile at Gianni. She glowered at him.

"What're you grinning at? Did you finally find out where the Hufflepuff baths are?" She spat at him after a whole minute of staring. Alberto acted appalled, shoving Tyler's shoulder.

"Is she implying that I smell?" He asked, pulling one of the pellets from his pocket stealthily, "You know what they say- She who smelt it, dealt it!" Tyler looked at him blankly, not realizing what was about to unfold. Alberto then squeezed the pellet between his thumb and forefinger, igniting the stench, and tossed it into her sack when she finally spun away to converse with her own set of friends. His aim was true. The Slytherin girls sniggered to themselves obliviously, as Slughorn walked in late as usual.

"Sorry class, had an emergency I had to handle. Now then, turn to chapter seven. We are going to learn to create the boil curing potion. Ahem, Does anyone know the ingredients used, perhaps you, Ms. Nero?"

"Fire Seeds are a major ingredient, as well as…" She paused to think, looking up at the ceiling, "As well as porcupine quills, and wartcap powder!" She finished, giggling innocently. Slughorn was delighted, awarding five points to his own house for her response. Alberto groaned. Gianni spun around ferociously.

"IS THERE A PROBLEM?" She roared, her tone clearly not as innocent as before.

"Now settle down, Gianni! Jealousy is simply another form of flattery, my dear." Slughorn said heartily. Alberto made a rude hand gesture at Slughorn when he wasn't looking. Soon the class was pulling out their cauldrons and retrieving jars of ingredients from Slughorn's closet storage.

Following the instructions in their copies of "_Step by step Motions to Rookie Potions"_, the high achieving students raced against the clock to be the first to finish, while the likes of Alberto and Tyler lazily slopped together their brews.

"Erm… this one should be easy, _cut the quills into inch long fragments and sprinkle them over the liquid._" Alberto read allowed to his partner, Tyler. The tall Slytherin boy, made precise cuts with his knife, and in no time had the pieces sprinkled into the cauldron.

"It's just like making Wiggenweld." He explained defensively, as Alberto looked at him in shock. Alberto shrugged understandingly, although he couldn't recall when they learned how to make Wiggenweld potion.

In half the time given to the class, Gianni was done, and was skipping to the front to call the Professor- her bag over her shoulder. As she passed the many Hufflepuff and Slytherin students in the rows ahead, her odor was obvious. The class wrinkled their noses in unity and once Slughorn reached his pupil, his eyes widened and he plugged his nostrils. His babbling with her gave Alberto enough time to toss another stink pellet into Gianni's perfect potion. The small –_plop_- as it splashed into the liquid instantly affected it, changing its color from a neon blue to a putrid brown.

"This is disgusting! Merlin's staff, what did you do?" Slughorn said in reaction to the now hissing brew. Gianni's mouth was left wide open, speechless and astonished at the fact that she had failed one of her assignments.

"Gigi darling, you might want to close your mouth. Those lacewing flies over there don't seem quite dead to me." Tyler found this hysterical, and slapped the table, accidently launching his wartcap powder into Gianni's hair. She bared her teeth, her eyes seemed to ignite in fire. She came to a sudden realization.

"You did this, you bloody troll buggerer!" she raged, ripping her wand from her robes.

"Don't point your wand at me, just because your potion-!" Alberto begged not wanting to admit his guilt. His voice was suddenly very serious, as he stood there with his hands raised. She proceeded to twirl her hand and just as she began the incantation for Flipendo. Slughorn flicked his wand and Gianni's popped out of her hand, clattering against the dungeon floor a moment later. He marched over, still holding his nose, and faced Alberto, his facial expression scared the class.

"Tampering with a potion, Mr. Pizzaro? _Twenty _points will be taken from Hufflepuff and a week's detention will be served starting next week!" Slughorn was breathing heavily out of his mouth, and his walrus moustache twitched in the silence. Alberto could tell that he took academic integrity very seriously. "CLASS DISMISSED!" The class didn't need to be told twice, and the first years scampered out of the dungeons speedily. Alberto, though, hung back, his nose trickling with blood caused by Gianni's attempted spell.

"Hold on! _Twenty_ points Professor? Blimey, do you know how much that is? And nothing from Slytherin? Gianni's the wretch trying to jinx students in potions class! That's just- unfair!" Alberto finished, regaining his composure.

"What I say goes Pizarro." With that being said, Alberto snorted and gathered his things. He grabbed his bag; slinging it over his shoulder, and walking to his next class. He wasn't sure that the prank was worth a week's worth of detention. Or twenty house points.

After classes had finished for the day, the talk in the Hufflepuff common room was on Alberto's prank in his class. Cheers from the more carefree side, and boo's on the side from the students who were more uptight on keeping point to win the house cup. Nonetheless, Autumn the third year laid on one of the couches, waiting to converse with the talk of the room.

"So tonight's the night that we get to go explore right?" she said silkily as he walked over.

_Tonight's the night I get a kiss from a third year!_ He thought, though he played it off casually and nodded. This was the best thing any first year could ask for, especially with the traditional 'bad year's the first year' motto that was generally accepted by students.

He socialized with most of the house for the next few hours while Autumn pulled out a mirror and began to touch up her makeup, adding more cherry red lipstick, and flipping her black hair back and forth, peering over at him every now and then. The common room was in an active beehive of Halloween celebrations. Music played from somewhere distant, and students feasted on sweets. Alberto's roommates John and Lance sat on one side of the circular room playing a loud match of exploding snap, while Danny and a few others sat on the floor, watching a few older students play wizard's chess on the tree-trunk table. The older students were living it up, however, and though Alberto enjoyed the atmosphere, he made sure to stay out of the way of some of the larger individuals.

What grabbed his attention most, though, was a small picture he hadn't noticed before tonight, one that hung above the walk way into his dormitory. It wasn't an illustrated portrait like most of the hangings at Hogwarts, but instead seemed to be a photograph. It didn't seem too old, as it was in color, but the handsome boy that it captured was young. The picture was eerie and followed Alberto all around the room; He wondered what it wanted with him.

As the evening drew into night, Alberto walked off into his dormitory looking through his trunk for his Canary Yellow trimmed cloak. Inside of his dormitory, a few boys sat relocated, listening to a beat up old radio, playing what sounded like a quidditch match. Alberto rolled his eyes at what he considered a great waste of time, especially on all Hallows eve.

Nick Gonzalez winced upon hearing Alberto bickering with his shrunken head in Spanish about whether or not it was cold enough for a cloak.

"You're not my mother, Chi-Chi!" He bellowed, swinging on his cloak. Alberto stuck his tongue out at the head before exiting his dorm. It was time for him to enjoy himself.

It was a quarter until Midnight when he announced to the now dying out party, "Come on Autumn, Let's go! Filch and his cat should be going to bed about now!" He caught a few winks and thumbs ups from his house mates before Autumn appeared out of the cluster of students. He grabbed her hand which she took, without showing much emotion.

As they headed out of the common room they felt a cool breeze flow through the corridor, blowing out each floating Jack-o one by one. _Must be because it's midnight…_ he thought, unconcerned. He pulled out his wand and casted lumos. She squeezed his arm tightly, Alberto got the idea that she wasn't as scared as she was displaying. He smiled.

"You notice everything when nobody else is here, it's brilliant." He said to her, his eyes lighting up.

"Yeah it is. I bet that's why you go out so often…" She said dully. It was as if it was back to the first night he spent roaming the castle after his sandwich was taken, experiencing the beauty with somebody else. He lowered his wand a bit so that none of the portraits would bash him by the disturbance in front of his date. Quickly waltzing into the Second Floor corridor he took her hand, intertwining their fingers.

"One of my favorite secret passages is on this floor! Bet you can't figure it out!" he said as excitedly as he could. He wanted her to feel the same joy he did in discovering new secrets. She put her hands on her hips and bent down in front of him, examining the bricks for a moment. Having given up rather quickly, she came over and softly kissed his cheek, gesturing for him to open it.

"I'm no good at these things, can't you help me?" She said, batting her heavily mascaraed eyelashes. His hand touched the side of his cheek gently where he had been kissed. His knees were weak, and his arms felt like jelly as they dropped. He was very glad that his face was shrouded in darkness at the moment. He pried his mouth open, managing to say something.

"It's a spell check of sorts." Was all he could manage as she looked off around the room, apparently now disinterested in the passage. An awkward silence followed, as Alberto bore through a few moments of her looking at herself through the reflection of one of the suits of armor that stood in the corner.

"There's actually another passage there. Behind that armor." Alberto said, attempting to inspire her once again.

"Oh." She croaked quietly, sounding bored. He pulled his wand out, deciding to keep on with their adventure through the castle when a cold, high pitch cackle filled the two wanderer's ears. It was the same malicious laughter that Alberto heard the first night of school- Peeves.

The giggles grew louder, sounding as if they were coming from the top corners of the second floor room. The sinister roars spooked Alberto into dropping his wand, causing a loss of their only source of light. Alberto's eyes bulged, trying to adjust to the darkness. It was not use. Fear climbed into his throat. Wasn't there a window in this room?

"_Autumn!" _He tried to choke out. But as he felt his lips move, not a sound escaped. He kneeled down to pick up his wand, desperately feeling the need for light. His heart slowly sunk into the pits of his stomach, as his found something that felt suspiciously like… _insects. _It felt like hundreds of legs crawled over Alberto's hands. He flung his body backwards in horror, flailing his arms around, trying to get the creatures off of him.

Peeves' cynical voice sprung into his ears… or was it his mind?

"You ugly bug, you!" There was a head splittingly loud cackle, "Oooh! Peeves is gonna kill you, Berty boy!"

In his mind, Alberto screamed out of fear for his mom and dad irrationally. And for the moment, it seemed as if it helped. He regained control of himself, flexing his hands to make sure he was alive, and then patting the floor. _No more bugs? _It was quiet and chilly, and still completely black. He stood up, and could hear himself walk. The sound coming seemed as if coming from stone as he quickened his pace, running through the darkness for what seemed like ages. He came to halt.

"Autumn…?" he whispered for a second time. He heard himself speak, a good sign. But there was no reply. She had vanished. Alberto clenched his fists and closed his eyes to hold back any tears that wanted to disperse. He stopped moving to think. He'd been running, and running far past where the second floor room he was in should have ended. After a moment or two past, He opened his eyes again. Lost for reasoning of where he was, and how this horror was happening. At least he was seemingly away from-

Peeves now appeared in front of him out of thin air, the only thing to be seen in this dark alternate world. This wasn't the same Peeves that Alberto met on the first night of school, this Peeves looked demented. His eyes were bloodshot red, his bottom lip seemed like it was torn off, and the rest of his small body seemed wrinkled and skewered. Wrinkles of anger and hatred dominated the poltergeist's face. The sight horrified Alberto to no end, being scared stiff once more.

"You wanted to see Peevesy, did you?" He drawled, baring his gnawed yellowed teeth.

Peeves drew closer to him cackling, not even bothering with his usual foul phrases. His face contorted, into many different shapes. Alberto felt empty, gone. His eyes rolling to the back of his head. The last thing he saw was a hairy eight eyed head atop Peeves' small body. He always hated bugs. Alberto heard a distant scream. In fact, It sounded a lot like his own…

Drew sat on the edge of one of the plump couches in Gryffindor common room. All of the students who were still awake were anxiously listening to the Quidditch match broadcasted from a radio that sat in the middle of the floor. This crowd included most of the Gryffindor quidditch team, as well as a few more supporters of British and Irish Quidditch League.

"_And it's Ravenson with the quaffle, she dodges, she jukes, and… SCORE! Tying the game at one hundred and eighty all! What a match we've got tonight, eh Birch?" _Asked the play by play announcer of the match, Marty Magines.

"_That's right, Marty. It's always great to see a match come down to the seeker play, and… will you look at that?" _Squealed the color anchor excitedly.

"_It's Brenden McNeil, Ballycastle seeker going into a steep dive… Could it be just another Wronski Feint here?" _

"_No way, Mart-o! That's a genuine dive, he's seen the snitch, and there goes Decker!" _

"_Jarvis Decker, willing his broom forward… he's nearly neck and neck with McNeil, can he… A bit of shoving going on, some elbow play, oh they're pulling up! And folks- I think we're about to-" _The announcer gasped, and with him, the Gryffindor common room.

"_DOWN GOES McNEIL! AND DECKER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH!" _

"_That broom jousting really cost him, and he's obviously going to regret that tomorrow morning, Marty…" _

Drew's heart sank, the match concluded, Tutshill leaving the match victorious. Drew put his face in his hands and groaned. _Of course they'd have to lose their seeker! Just as McNeil was about to tie the all-time seeking record! _Sighing heavily and ignoring the taunts from the Tornado fans in the room, he exited to his dormitory to retrieve the money he now owed John.

Spilling a few golden pieces into his hand from a burlap sack he kept in his trunk, he pocketed the wager money and slouched down the staircase back into his common room. He figured that John would still be awake.

At dinner, Alberto raved about the Hufflepuff parties being held that night and about his date with a third year, both subjects leaving a boasting feel in the air that Drew didn't appreciate.

Crawling out of the swinging portrait of the fat lady, Drew hung a right and slid on his stomach under one of the seventh floor book cases, planning to take the Knave's tunnel down towards the Hufflepuffs commons.

The darkness was banished by the illuminating pulse of his wand. He felt it prickle in his hand, perhaps still cross with him, but working for now. At dueling club last week, it had refused to cooperate completely, resulting in an embarrassing loss to Ali, all in front of Brooke Mars. Drew felt a chill go down his spine as he shook the memory from his mind. He hoped that he'd run into Brooke tonight while dropping off John Rolf's due prize money. Maybe she'd find his late night traveling… roguish.

Drew hopped into the main foyer of the passage lightly, his wand waggling to a tune he was humming, his mood was uplifted by thoughts of his blue eyed crush, He could just picture it…

_Brooke crawled out of the barrel that Drew assumed led to the Hufflepuff common room. Her pools of blue dashed up towards his face and her pink lips spread into a wide smile. Drew's heart struggled to escape its place in his chest to no avail. Drew scratched his curly black hair and smiled sheepishly. _

"_Hi…" _

"_Hey…" _

_AHHHHHH!_

The scream was no part of his fantasy. Drew's eyes came back into focus and he swung his wand light towards the way the scream came from. The back of the fireplace entry-way stood stagnant, yet somehow it seemed to taunt him. Drew raced towards it, and within seconds, he was hunching through it, into the second floor corridor that it let out in.

Darkness. Drew skewered his eyes, noticing that his wand light wasn't shining anywhere other than the tip of his wand. He flicked it around, but his surroundings remained shrouded. He stepped forward, gingerly, hearing the wooden floor creak beneath him. His heart hammered against his chest. And…

_CRACK! _

The wood he stood on splintered, leaving his leg to fall through, rolling up his pant leg and scraping the exposed skin with it. The wood stung his new wounds, and Drew, fearing the fall, yanked his leg up as quickly as possible.

Breathing heavily in the pitch black, Drew felt as though he'd just dodged a bullet, and was lucky that he hadn't toppled down through the second floor…

_Wait a minute! _

Sudden realization hit Drew. He was on the _second_ floor, the ground was made of stone here, this he was positive. How could he have fallen through wood? He began to piece it together: The complete blackness blocking out his _lumos, _the nonsensical scare? This wasn't darkness. This was Trap Black. These were illusions.

Drew swallowed. These were illusions, but caused by what? His mind went back to the bone chilling scream he'd heard earlier, and he thought it best to keep moving. As he paced himself through the darkness, Drew tried to calm his fear and think. He visualized the chapter he'd read on Trap Black weeks back, trying to remember what must be done.

"_Verdimillious!" _ He cried out, swishing his wand over his head. Instead of the expected golden sparks, he received angry red ones, and a hand numbing vibration that caused him to drop his wand.

"_DAMN IT." _He cried angrily. Why did he have to have a phoenix tail feather as his wand core? Ollivander the wand maker had told him it was notoriously temperamental...

Drew dropped to his knees, patting his hands against the once again stone cold floor, in search of his wand, but nothing was to be found. A malicious cackle in the distance startled Drew into toppling over onto his back. He was now laying face up, when he caught sight of something for the first time- As if a spot light was directed on it, a chandelier above Drew's head was engulfed In light, and began to rotate, slowly at first before getting faster and faster, unhinging itself from the ceiling, and falling towards Drew. Drew let out a silent scream, as it came crashing down upon him. It shattered, and yellow lights sprinkled around him, not hurting Drew in the slightest, but scaring him witless.

_There's not a chandelier on this floor… _

Drew got to his feet, and racked his brain for a solution. He needed to find whoever screamed, whoever needed help- This thought kept him moving until he stopped in his tracks. Who else would be out at this time tonight, who else got in trouble at every opportunity? _Alberto. _

Drew felt his temperature rising, as his blood boiled. Alberto was always out to be a hero, wasn't he? Out on a date with a third year, was he? He was going to _die. _Alberto was going to _die_ tonight because of his ignorance, and boastfulness and… Drew's knee slammed against something hard, and he toppled to the floor once again. The spotlight seemed to have returned, and this time it was beamed down upon the limp body of Alberto Pizzaro lying on the floor. Drew forgot his anger and bounded towards his friend's body.

Drew grabbed Alberto's face and shook it, opening his eyelids forcefully.

"_Alberto!_ Wake up!" Drew whispered frantically as he held up his friend's body. Alberto remained limp, and Drew heard the cackling once again, but not from behind the boys, from within Alberto.

Alberto's face sprung open, but clearly not on his own accord. His eyes were glazed over, and black. And the smile that was on his face was far from his own.

"MORE WITTLE FIRSTIES FOR PEEVESY TO PLAY WITH?" Shrieked Alberto's animated body. Drew nearly lost his stomach as he watched Alberto's skin sprout holes. Burrowing out of his face were fat white maggots. Wriggling around, the haunting laughter filled the alternate black space, sending Drew over the edge. Drew flung Alberto's body back and looked around desperately for his wand. How did he find Alberto? How was he not dead?

The text from his school work-_ (Ex: If Johnny wants to find his kneazle, he should think of how unpleasant it would be to be bitten by his kneazle on the toe at the moment.) _

Drew willed himself to relive the pain of his wand, the disappointment he felt in it… The anger it gave him and… there it was.

Drew's wand slithered towards him in its spot light. Twice as long, and snake like. It hissed, but Drew was unafraid now. He pounced on it, wrestling with the scaly brown texture. He grabbed it and raised it, all the while it snapped at his hand.

"VERDIMILLIOUS!" he roared, and the golden sparks were true. The darkness dissolved with the falling stars his wand produced, and Alberto's body snapped up, conscience and afraid.

"Where is he? Where's…" Alberto stammered, his lank dark hair flipping around wildly. Drew didn't know how to reply until it was too late, Peeves came pelting towards him, his face mangled and eyes dripping with a suspicious red fluid. A scream came from the spirit's body, so high pitched it pained Drew to hear. Drew slashed up with his wand, willing sparks out of it. At the very least, Peeves was knocked off course, as he blasted out of the single window that stood in the room.

Drew took in the now dimly lit corridor that extended out of the room. Sliding over to Alberto, he took notice of another black swaddled figure balled up in the corner.

"I take it this is your date." said Drew dryly.

Alberto didn't turn around to look at Autumn, nor did he respond to Drew, instead he pointed up towards the wall behind Drew's back.

"Emile."

Drew spun around to see the most horrific scene he'd ever witnessed. Emile McGinnis was hanging by his robe tail from a torch sheath high about the ground. He wasn't conscious- if he was alive, and a steady drip of blood fell from his burgundy soaked shirt onto the stone floor.

The rest of the night was a blur to Drew and Alberto. Soon after they'd discovered Emile, Professors McGonagall, Longbottom, Hunnicutt, Flitwick, and Slughorn had all rushed to the scene, wasting no time in getting Emile down, and getting a recount of the boys' story.

Apparently Emile was alive, but only just. He'd been suffering of starvation, dehydration, and blood loss and was levitated to the Hospital Wing immediately. Longbottom took Drew back to his dormitory, and woke all of the Gryffindors up to tell them the news of their recently found housemate. No questions were asked about why Drew, Alberto, and Autumn were out of bed, as the teachers seemed to be more worried about Peeves' return.

Once back in his dormitory, after retelling his story nearly twenty times, Drew peeled of his sweat drenched clothes. His house seemed to praise him for his daring escape of the psychotic poltergeist, but the older students seemed to be shaken.

"This isn't like Peeves. What he did on first day of term, and now this? He was always playful… a bloody clown if anything, not… not this." said Skyler Redman whilst fiddling with his dreadlocks, apparently deep in thought.

Drew glanced outside his bedside window, and watched the small figure of Professor McGonagall performing maximum field charms around the school. It was apparent that Peeves wasn't getting back inside the school, but this, coupled with the previous ban placed around the forbidden forest (due to the Knaves' previous frights) would completely restrict outside access for students. Drew didn't like the idea of being the blame of school.

Down in the Hufflepuff sleeping quarters, few seemed to be interested in Alberto's late night horrors. All of the students listened to the blonde headed Hunnicutt's retelling of what happened, but nobody said anything to Alberto as he clambered into bed, demoralized. It was obvious that he'd lost face. He was no longer the hero of Hufflepuff, but instead, just another screw up to throw onto the pile.

Both Drew and Alberto slept late into the day on November the first. And at half past noon, Drew awoke to a rapping at his window. He slouched out of bed, his legs sore, and his eyes still tired. He opened the window to let in a pure black owl, who hopped in on one leg. Drew untied the small scroll that was on the leg.

_Drew,_

_Gryffindor won the match 200 to 110- I suppose we're dead even. Still, Tutshill Ballycastle. _

_-John Rolf_

_PS: Brooke Mars asked me to see if you'd like to eat next to her at dinner tonight. Silly broads. _

Drew groaned at the fact that he missed the first quidditch game of the season, and he quickly let the owl back out and shut the window, before the cold air got in. He couldn't help the small spike in joy he felt when Brooke's name was read, but it didn't uplift his mood completely.

He really looked forward to his hell semester at Hogwarts being over. Little did he know, it hadn't started yet.


	12. Snow Balling

**CHAPTER TWELVE: SNOW BALLING**

The remaining days left in the semester dwindled down to just seven, as the Knaves plopped down onto the bench of the mostly empty Ravenclaw table. Having just finished their last final exams, most of the boys were relieved to be free for the rest of the break, albeit a bit mentally tired. The exception to this feeling was of course, Ali.

"What did you lot get for question fifty-three on the Herbology final?" he asked, clearly paranoid. Drew groaned.

"We don't _remember!_ There were like, ninety questions!"

"Ninety-two…" Ali mumbled, propping his head on his hands. Drew rolled his eyes as his friend stared off into space.

Drew had faced more struggles just trying to get from day to day at Hogwarts than he did on the tests, and though previously stressed, he now felt boundless, full of new energy.

"The D.A.D.A test was cake," Tyler announced, stretching his long arms. Alberto looked Appalled.

"How do you reckon?"

"It was all common sense!" Tyler squealed, obviously annoyed. "_'What d'yu do when faced with a monster you've never encountered before?'_ Oh, I dunno… _Flee the area_, perhaps?"

Alberto stared blankly for a moment before cracking a smile and shaking his head blushingly.

"_Wizards…" _Tyler said contemptuously.

The boys attempted to discuss what to do with their free afternoon, but Ali's constant interruptions about test scores weighed on their spirits.

"Come on, Ali… You're the top of our year. You need to lighten up!" Tyler said finally, after Drew slammed his fists against the table in result of another of Ali's academic outbursts. Ali nodded his head understandingly and went back to his thoughts.

"_He _needs to lighten up," Alberto whispered, watching the big bodied Christopher Patil walk into the great hall, accompanied by Matthew Ray. "I mean, look at him. You think he's got any relation to Hagrid? I bet-"

"_Shut up._" Drew cut in, silencing Alberto. Drew's face grew grim and his friends undoubtedly noticed his hand dip into his wand pocket.

His transactions with Ray and Patil had been so minimal he hadn't a clue on whether or not they still wanted his head. Nevertheless, his attendance to dueling club this year had him confident in facing the worst.

Patil gazed around the shallowly populated great hall, before pointing to Drew and the others and exchanging a few words with Ray. The two then made a beeline for the Ravenclaw table.

Ali caught Drew's eye, and Drew understood that he'd have backup in a brawl if one occurred.

"Oi, Henry!" Ray shouted brutally.

Drew turned around slowly.

"Ray?" He stabbed coolly.

Matthew and Christopher said nothing, but strolled towards the boys. Drew felt his heart pumping, but to his shock, the boys simply swung their legs over the bench, and joined the Knaves.

"Listen Henry," Ray began uncomfortably. "After hearing about what you—both of you," He restated, nodding to Alberto, who was listening into their conversation intently. "What you two did against Peeves, and how you found Emile… Well, I guess you aren't such losers."

These words seemed to take a great effort from Matthew, and Drew wasn't sure on how to respond. On the other side of the diminutive Ray, Christopher Patil gave Drew thumbs up.

"Er… well, thanks." Drew said awkwardly, loosening his grip on his wand handle.

Matthew gave a forced smile.

"Us Gryffindors need to stick together. We aren't too far out of first place after beating the Puffs in Quidditch." Matthew said, and Drew could see a fiery passion in his house mate's eyes.

"GO GO GRYFFINDOR!" Christopher bellowed to the great hall. His echo bounced off of the ceiling. Alberto, Ali and Tyler eyed Drew gawkily, as if to say _You room with these jug heads? _

"Ha-ha," Drew said hollowly. "Well I'm glad to hear this from you lot, but we were just about to go… erm—"

"Outside," Ali piped up. Drew frowned at him, "McGonagall said that we were allowed out as long as we stayed near enough to the castle." Ali said innocently. Matthew and Christopher seemed to be content in the great hall as they set up a game of exploding snap.

With this, the knaves hopped off of the bench and swung on their winter cloaks and scarfs, sprinting out of the castle.

"You _sure_ we're allowed out here?" Alberto asked, slipping on his dragon hide gloves.

"Not exactly… but I saw some of the older students going on, and… what could it hurt?" Ali replied.

The three other boys stared at him as if he were some sort of alien life form, but went on with the adventure, regardless.

The boys romped out into the foot tall snow that decorated the Castle lawn. The scenery was white. And white was all there was. A couple of students were huddled up against the stone steps, just out of view of the great oak doors that the boys had walked out of. A boy with white blonde hair and a girl with brown locks held hands in the flurries that drifted from above.

"Who're they?" Drew asked, his nose stingingly red in the chilled air. He clearly wasn't touched by the romantic scene before him.

"That," Tyler said weakly as he rubbed his hands together, "Is Timothy Xioshen. Zi-Oh-Shen." He pronounced slowly. "He tried to jinx me in the common room after I misread his name on the prefect's list. It's not every day you come by a name like that!"

"Some prefect he must be." Drew said bitterly, taking notice of the emerald and silver scarf the older boy wore.

"Unless you lot have anything to do, I'd _love _to leave this arctic hell that you've dragged me into." Alberto said loudly. A single tear slid from his face, and froze instantly. It was clear that he wasn't used to the cold weather.

Drew whined about having to see Ray and Patil again, and suggested they do something more with their time outdoors. So the boys began to roll snow, and cliché as it was, they began to build a snow man. After Alberto added a stick they'd planned on using for a nose in an inappropriate place, Drew took to kicking it down heartily. The boys laughed a while longer, pretending to be dragons with their chilled fog breath, before being forced to stop by disdainful looks from the prefect Xioshen. Moments later, Drew suggested the boys all go in, much to Alberto's delight.

"We can leave after this," Ali said distantly, and the other boys spun around to see him a few yards away, scooping ice up with his dragon hide glove. He patted the snow into a ball and before any of the others could stop him, he sent it flying. It arched up into the blue sky before landing with a _crunch_ against the back of the Slytherin prefect's head.

"RUN!" Ali bellowed through fits of giggles. And the boys tore off towards the steps once again, Alberto leading the pack. Alberto slipped on the first step, but scrambled to his feet quickly, heaving the oak door open.

Drew caught sight of Xioshen's swinging wand arm, and a jet of silver light splashing into the snow banks just below the steps on which the first years stood. In the glee of the moment, Drew made a rude gesture at the older students as he slammed the Oak doors closed behind his friends.

Once inside, the boys didn't stop their running, instinctively all sprinting up towards their hideout within the fireplace on the second floor.

Once they arrived on the second floor landing, they stopped to take a rest. Heaving heavily but laughing the whole while.

"Ali, where did that come from?" Alberto cried, clapping Ali on the shoulder.

"You lot told me to lighten up!"

The boys roared with laughter as the recounted what happened.

"…Drew you did that? Bloody hell, mate, we're all dead!" Tyler said, sipping from a test tube shaped container he pulled from his robes. "Xioshen's kind of an Alpha male in Slytherin. He's got friends, man… friends like—Him." Tyler pointed at a conveniently close large Slytherin boy who stalked towards the first year's direction.

"I know him! That's _Ryan._" Alberto said, his voice sounding like a mixture of excitement and fear.

The other three boys were brought back to when they had all met on the train to Hogwarts in September. Alberto had told them all about a boy named Ryan who was an old timey Blood purist.

"Wait a minute… that's the bloke you were talking about?" Ali said, squinting through his glasses. "Ryan _Patil. _That big lug Christopher is his brother." Drew's eyebrows rose, seeing the similarities between the two large black haired boys. And just how Christopher had wandered over towards the first year boys in the great hall earlier, his brother did the same.

"H-hey, Ryan! What's up?" Tyler asked, his smarminess being replaced with respectful fear. Ryan looked around at the boys suspiciously, pausing at Alberto who had instantly formed a face concealing wrapping out of his Hufflepuff scarf. Ryan frowned.

"Harper," He said, poking Tyler in the chest. The two were nearly the same height, though Ryan was about three times as wide. "And you two are…" He pulled out a piece of parchment and squinted down at it before continuing, "Acra and Henry?" Drew and Ali nodded quickly.

"You three—Not you, Pizzaro," Ryan spat with disgust, Alberto dropped his façade embarrassingly, seeing he'd been found out.

"_Have been invited to Professor Slughorn's Christmas Party, being held on December twenty-third, the evening term ends. You are expected to bring a date of your choosing and dress cordially. Festivities begin at five pm, sharp._"

Ryan finished reading and Drew, Ali and Tyler looked at each other in shock, Alberto building a silent rage over not having been invited. Without another word, Ryan slammed through the boys (knocking Tyler to the floor) on his way down the grand staircase.

Rushing into the fireplace as soon as nobody was around, the boys had a lot to discuss.

"Why the _bloody hell___am I not invited?" was the first thing Alberto said.

"He's probably sick of seeing you so much after those detentions…" Drew recalled, dismissing Alberto for the moment.

"How are we supposed to find a date? And er… clothes?"

"Oh come off it, we all know you're going to go with Brooke Mars." Tyler said casually. Drew shook his head.

"But I've got to _ask _her. I think I'd rather have another go at Peeves." He said truthfully. Alberto shivered from behind him.

"And it said _cordially, _mate. Meaning we can get away with sweaters- I can't have been the only one to get a holiday sweater from the house elves last week." Ali said, wiping his glasses.

It was true for all students, as the House Elves had taken to knitting as a pass time over the last years. Drew knew that dress robes were a wizard custom, not to be ignored.

"I've got dress robes- Plenty." Alberto added seemingly reading Drew's mind after he'd subsided his fuming, "And no bloody complaining from you lot… I'd love to go to one of Slughorn's shindigs. I heard from Danny Derrick that they were real posh… a perfect place to set some dung bombs off if you ask me…" he trailed off.

"Look, we just have to find dates. Not a big deal…" Tyler said, brushing dirt off of the back of his robes. Drew and Ali sighed. It seemed to be problem after problem at this school.

A few moments later, Drew changed the subject to Ryan's run through of Tyler.

"Heh- I've got it easy compared to Wasim Kabu." Tyler said, sitting on the stone floor with the rest of the boys. Ali dipped into his rucksack and pulled out a chess board, unfolding it, he then dumped out thirty-two squirming chess pieces. Drew sat across from him and began to set up the board for a game of Wizard's chess. A game that Drew knew he had no hope in winning at.

"What'd Wasim do to Ryan?" Alberto asked disinterestedly, tapping his wand against the floor. Tyler shrugged.

"Dunno, Ryan's just kind of a bully, isn't he? He's the one who kicked me and Wasim out back on our first night here."

Alberto's eyes flicked over to Tyler, remembering an occasion he was involved in.

"You know I told Wasim to tail Slughorn, right?" He asked the room of boys. Drew and Ali shrugged, enticed in their game (Ali's Queen had put one of Drew's pawns in a choke hold).

"_IF _Slughorn's up to something- Like you lot all seem to-" Ali began skeptically, "Then I reckon Kabu's the right guy to figure something out… I saw him in Slughorn's office the other day when I turned in that research paper-"

"-Three days early." Drew chimed in. Alberto was annoyed at Ali's predictable doubt.

"It all fits, mate! Look, you lot were attacked by Centaurs in the forest, correct?"

The three other boys nodded.

"And then a few days later, that Firenze bloke was attacked and sent to St. Mungo's… Well, that next day, Slughorn told our class that he'd been in the forbidden forest -the place where Firenze was found KO'd, mind you- getting bloody spider pincers!" Tyler nodded at Alberto's assessment. Drew took his focus off of the chess match and looked at Alberto, his brow furrowed.

"That's fairly suspicious, I'll give you that."

In the background, Ali smacked his lips dubiously.

"I think he's got a point." Tyler said patting Alberto on the shoulder. "Good on you for getting us a little spy, too." Alberto looked thankful for one friends' support.

"Well tell you what; you two are staying here for Holiday, correct?" Drew asked. Alberto and Tyler nodded. Neither quite fancied a chat with their parents about school at this point in the year- Alberto due to his acquaintances being the _wrong_ type of wizard, and Tyler due to his acquaintances being wizards at all.

"You should pay a visit to the gamekeeper, Hagrid. If anyone has an inside scoop on this Centaur madness, it's him. He practically _lives_ in the forest." Drew continued. Alberto nodded, taking this idea into consideration. None of the boys were on particular friendly terms with Hagrid. They knew that he taught Care of Magical Creatures to the older students, but only Drew seemed to know anything more about him. Alberto shuttered. Drew figured he was thinking about their last interaction with the half-giant, when he was dragging in massive Christmas trees and told the first years to '_Get outter the way!'_

The evening of December twenty third rapidly approached, and with all of the free time the boys were given, the anxiousness of the upcoming party only grew.

Drew, Ali, and Tyler were all set in the clothing department, each deciding to wear their festive House Elf made sweater under a pair of Alberto's borrowed dress robes. In Drew's opinion, the easy part was done- But with only two days left, he was still dateless. Tyler showed up to breakfast one morning happier than usual, having agreed to take a fellow Slytherin first year, Amanda Monroe.

"How'd you do it?" Drew asked him incredulously, leaning over his breakfast plate at the Hufflepuff table.

"I just asked her, mate. She's a pretty chill girl, thought she'd be a good time."

Alberto nodded at Tyler.

"That's my boy. You know, it's a shame I can't go. They must have me on some sort of _'do not invite' _list, because I haven't been asked by any of these birds yet." He said looking down the table and waving at some of the females. Alberto's reputation had surely been tarnished ever since the night when Emile McGinnis was found. Everybody was well aware of this fact_ except_ for Alberto.

The Knaves were given a bit of a shock when they'd found out how few people were actually invited. The only first year boys seemed to be Drew, Ali, Tyler, Emile McGinnis (Now fully embraced as a battle worn hero), Wasim Kabu and surprisingly- Nick Gonzales.

"So have you asked Brooke yet?" Alberto asked, half way through his bacon. Drew _'shh'ed _him immediately, eyeing Brooke at the very end of the table.

"She's never alone!" Drew complained after making sure nobody had heard Alberto's question. "She's always got that Gabriela girl dangling off of her shoulder!" Alberto nodded with an air of false familiarity.

"Yeah, chicks always travel together. 'Spose you could always go with ol' Tiffany Goyle." He said smirking. Drew reached across the table and punched his arm.

"Don't be a prat."

A brilliant idea then hit Drew, as he turned to Ali excitedly.

"Ali!" He squeaked, beaming. Ali looked at him questioningly. "You could ask Gabriela Saturn." Tyler snorted at her last name from across the table, Drew ignored him.

"No." Ali said flatly.

"What? You haven't got anyone else, have you?" Drew asked, not entirely sure of himself. Ali waited to swallow his bite of pancake before answering.

"Guess you'll have to see." He said as he shot his best friend a sly grin. Drew held out his hands, confused. Had Ali really gotten a date before he had?

"Shame," Tyler said as Ali left the table to head to the library, "Sure there isn't a 'Cynthia Uranus' for me to ask around here?"

That night, the perfect opportunity would arise for Drew to ask Brooke to Slughorn's party. Strolling down the grand staircase with Miles and Emile, the boys planned to ask Professor Longbottom his opinion of first years being allowed to go to Hogsmeade (As the trip for the older students was the next day) and the boys figured that Longbottom would be lenient enough for them to persuade.

Reaching the ground floor, Drew nearly bumped into Brooke as he opened the door that led to the Entrance hall. They locked eyes for a moment, and instantly Brooke turned tomato red.

"Sorry!" She mumbled, stepping past him.

"No- hey, Brooke!" Drew called after her, caught off guard. "I… how have you been?" He asked, deciding to start of casually.

"Erm… fine?" She replied awkwardly looking between the boys.

"Er… haha, yeah... me too!" Drew forced, desperately wanting to prevent silence. Brooke nodded uncomfortably, slowly turning back to the stairs.

"You know Drew?" piped up Emile suddenly. Brooke turned back to the Gryffindors and nodded. Her face looked burnt. Drew looked at Emile, _what are you playing at? _he thought angrily.

"Heh- I thought you were a bit of a loser, from class you know…" Emile said brashly. Brooke frowned.

"But if you know Drew, you're pretty ace!"

Drew blushed, scratching his head modestly.

"This is the daft mud that found my arse! If it wasn't for him, I'd probably be dead!" Emile shouted. Miles nodded knowingly. "Hey, Drew- Aren't you looking for a date to Slughorn's party?" Emile asked boldly. Brooke's eyes flashed. "Maybe you could take Brooke. She's not too bad." Emile shrugged.

Drew pretended to think this over for a bit.

"All right, what d'you say, Brooke?" Drew asked, feeling a surge of confidence provided by Emile.

"I er… yeah! Of course!" She said quickly.

Drew smiled, "Cool."

As the three Gryffindor boys left Longbottom's office (after receiving a prompt 'NO YOU CAN NOT GO TO HOGSMEADE') Drew thanked Emile thoroughly for his help with getting him a date.

"No problem, mate. I reckon I owed you." He replied, flipping his red hair out of his face. "Plus, Miles wanted to test out his little theory-"

"It's not a _theory_. I just said that if you build yourself up to a lass and she thinks you're better than her, she'll think _you're _the catch." This all seemed reasonable to Drew, though he wondered if it wouldn't earn Miles a few slaps in the future.

Once back in Gryffindor tower, Drew announced the news to his dorm mates. Matthew Ray and Christopher Patil whooped and hollered for him.

"Oh, she's right fit, mate!" Ray said. "I'd love to lick her face!"

The silence that filled the dormitory was immense.

"What? That's what grown-ups do to each other when they're in love." Matthew said, defensively. The other boys laughed for a few long minutes afterwards.

"_Shut up!_" Matthew cried, as he hopped into his bed and pulled his curtains closed around him.

Each of the boys spent the preparation for the party in their respective common rooms on the eve of the twenty-third.

Drew gazed at himself in a mirror, squashing down his now quite long curly hair. Alberto's robes fit him well, and his corny sweater looked more ironic than anything. He smiled at himself.

"You look nice." came a voice from behind him. Tiffany Goyle came stomping down the stone steps that led to the girls' dormitory, her high heels clacking against the stone floor. Drew tried to hide his look of shock at the fact that she was going to the party. He supposed that Slughorn did seem fond of her, as she was a fair student in potions.

"Why thank you." He said, patting down the color on the black robe he wore.

He looked at her light green dress and attempted a smile; the color might've been better suited in a guacamole bowl.

"You too!" He managed after a second.

"Don't be making eyes at my date, Henry!" Boomed Emile, as he trotted down the steps to the boys' dorms. He gave a jolly laugh and patted Drew's shoulder. He himself wore closed chested red robes, that clashed violently with his hair.

"I'm only joking, mate. You've got a fine date of your own!" Emile said taking his somewhat larger date's hand elegantly. Drew smiled sheepishly, wondering how one compared a loud mouthed witch like Tiffany to the mild mannered Brooke Mars, but he let it slide.

"I thought you two hated each other, the way that Tiffany grabbed you the night of the squid incident." Drew commented as the three made their way out of the common room and down the grand staircase.

"I wasn't too fond of her after that, but after being in solitude with Peeves for so long, I thought on it a bit more. I had to admire her guts, you know? Just something about a fiery woman that gets me!"

"Must be the Irish blood," Drew said, repeating an opinion he'd heard his father say once.

He had to respect Emile McGinnis, however. After the catastrophe with Peeves, he could've taken practically any girl in the school, but he chose Tiffany Goyle. That showed some Gryffindor Nerve.

Arriving in the entrance hall, Drew spotted his date, looking as dazzling as he could've hoped. Her dress was rather short, and blue, and her hair was done wavy. Drew grinned, experiencing a feeling of being the luckiest boy at Hogwarts and then the most underdressed boy at Slughorn's party.

The couple decided to wait for Ali and his mysterious date, ushering Emile and Tiffany forward. Drew tried to think fast, contemplating conversation starters.

"So is it really true that you fought off Peeves?" Brooke asked lightly. Drew looked up from his shoes (which he'd been previously staring at).

"Er… 'fought' is a bad word," He said, "Maybe I 'survived' Peeves." He told her modestly. She smiled at him toothily. The two waited in a bit more comfortable silence until their eyes were attracted to the sight of two other figures descending the entrance hall's steps.

Ali, dressed in Alberto's emerald green dress robes, looked dead ahead, not making eye contact with Drew who now stood with his mouth agape.

"_Ohhh, _Hey Drew, I didn't know you were invited!" Squealed Bonnie Kidd, as she hung off of Ali's arm. Drew didn't know how to reply, she seemed to have forgotten about their previous encounter.

"_Ali-_" Drew started into his best friend as they marched swiftly towards the dungeons.

"We've got to be going! I don't fancy being late… I heard there was an oriental theme!" Ali interrupted flamboyantly. Drew frowned, confusedly. Brooke caught his eye; she seemed to sense the awkwardness in Ali's choice in date, but said nothing.

Arriving in Slughorn's classroom that evening was liking stepping into a totally different establishment. Chinese paper lamps dangled from the ceiling, illuminating the usually damp room with fluorescent lights. Origami dragons and other creatures Drew didn't recognize glided above their heads, sprung to life. Fairies zoomed in and out, between the party goers, adding to the beautiful light show. Drew was dazzled.

"They're beautiful aren't they?" Brooke remarked whimsically, reaching out a finger for a sparkling blue fairy to shake. Both Brooke and the fairy giggled. Drew's heart leapt.

"Now, now!" Boomed a voice from the back wall of the classroom. Slughorn stood, one fat leg resting atop a chair as the center of attention. He twisted his white walrus moustache and watched the crowd slowly look upon him before continuing. "Thank you all for attending my… how many years has it been now? Oh, who keeps count of how many- Annual Christmas Bash! If you are here, I hope that you understand that it is my little way of showing utmost flattery," He gave a small wink to some of the students, "And I hope it is an enjoyable experience all around!"

The party was unleashed. Drew took in the attendees. Older students, other teachers, a few sketchy looking characters filled the guest list. After a few moments of taking in the decorations with Brooke he excused himself to have a chat with Tyler, who'd only just walked in. Waltzing toward his Slytherin friend Drew couldn't help but notice the look of disdain that Tyler's date, Amanda shot towards him.

"Hey mate, some party, eh?" Drew asked, after Tyler seemingly dismissed Amanda from his presence.

"I'll say. Top bloke, Slughorn is…"

"Implying he's not responsible for the Centaurs going berserk on us. Or the attack on Firenze." Drew reminded him scornfully.

"Yeah, implying that."

"Ali's being a bit of a prat, isn't he?" Drew said, noticing the Ravenclaw in the distance having an animated conversation with what seemed to be a vampire.

"Well- he was pretty worried about what you'd think about his date." Tyler said bluntly, receiving a cup of punch from his now returning date. He added his unusual ingredient to it. Drew shrugged understandingly, _he wouldn't want people to know if he was taking that obnoxious thing out as his date_, _either._

"Tyler, what's that that you-" Drew started to ask him about his added liquid, before both boys were slapped on the back by a rose faced Horace Slughorn.

"Ah, my two favorite first years!" Slughorn said unashamedly, ignoring the presence of Amanda. Drew eyed the old man suspiciously, as this was news to him. "I remember your parents, m'boy! Your mother was always the rebellious one… but a good potions maker, indeed. Your father was in my house, of course… muggle born, was he not?" Slughorn asked rhetorically.

"Yeah, not sure what that has to do with… potions." Drew mumbled defiantly.

"No- Nothing, my dear boy! Don't think me prejudiced. Tyler here is also a Slytherin muggle-born."

To this, Tyler nodded carelessly.

"And quite the young brewer, I'd say!" Slughorn continued, beaming at Tyler.

"Heh- well I practice." Tyler replied. Slughorn nodded encouragingly for a few moments before catching another first year who was passing by.

"Ah, Hahnur Kent!" He greeted, bowing. The Asian Gryffindor boy eyed Slughorn oddly. "Enjoying the oriental decorations?" Slughorn asked. Hahnur shrugged. "Have you met my old friend Doctor Yuan?" Slughorn asked, guiding a reluctant Hahnur towards another part of the room. Drew snorted.

The rest of the evening was much of the same- Slughorn's 'fond memories' of everyone present at the party, Ali's pompous behavior and Tyler's care free attitude with his date. Drew took a bit of interest in Wasim Kabu who appeared dateless to the party, only to have spent most of his time chatting up Slughorn. Drew hoped that whatever they were talking about would be beneficial information for the Knaves in the future.

Drew enjoyed being with his own date, however. He'd managed a few conversations with Brooke about dueling club, and even danced with her.

As Drew left the slowly dying party, planning to escort Brooke back to her own dormitory before traveling up stairs to his own, he found the hall way blocked by the eight-odd foot tall Hagrid, having an animated conversation with a tiny house elf.

"I'm sorry, sir, but there aint a thing I can do about it, dig? You're not on the list- and Slugs doesn't want any trouble!" Squeaked the elf in what sounded like an East coast American accent.

"Look 'ere, I've got some er- _news _for Professor Slughorn, and if you don' let me in…!" Hagrid babbled threateningly.

"Uh huh, alright boss." The elf chirped, sticking a finger in its ear as if you were getting a message via headset. "I've got permission to magick you right out of here, ya lug." The elf said intimidatingly. Hagrid growled before storming out mumbling '_elves ge' a few more rights n' now they think they run th' place!' _

"Jeez…" The elf sighed as soon as Hagrid was out of sight. "Why try and get into a party you aint even invited to? Heh, haven't had that much trouble since I had to get that bloody _cokey coola._" Drew and Brooke gawked at the Elf's uncharacteristic attitude before being told to "_Get outta here, ya twerps!" _

Drew took Brooke to her dormitory and gave her an awkward arm hug before jogging back to the seventh floor common room he called his own. He had a lot on his mind, mainly wondering what was going on between Hagrid and Slughorn. That was a situation surely linked to the Centaurs… a job for Alberto and Tyler to take up during break, he thought.


End file.
